Decree of the State Council of the People’s Republic China
No. 566
Interim Measures for Payment of Remuneration by Radio and
Television Stations for Broadcasting Sound Recordings, adopted at the
62nd Executive Meeting of the State Council on May 6, 2009, are hereby
promulgated and shall be effective as of January 1, 2010.
Premier, Wen Jiabao
November 10, 2009
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Interim Measures for Payment of Remuneration by Radio
and Television Stations for Broadcasting Sound Recordings
Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the
provisions of Article 43 of the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of
China (hereinafter referred to as the Copyright Law), for the purpose of
ensuring that copyright owners exercise their right of broadcasting in
accordance with law and facilitating broadcasting of sound recordings by
radio and television stations.
Article 2 For broadcasting published musical works, a radio or
television station may, on matters regarding the method for paying
remuneration and the amount to be paid to copyright owners, etc.,
conclude an agreement with the copyright collective administration
organization which administers the relevant rights.
A radio or television station which, for broadcasting a published
sound recording, has concluded a licensing contract with the copyright
owner, shall pay remuneration by the method and at the rates agreed in
the contract.
A radio or television station which broadcasts a published sound
recording (hereinafter referred to as broadcasting a sound recording)
without permission from the copyright owner, as provided for in Article
43 of the Copyright Law, shall pay remuneration to the copyright owner
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in accordance with these Measures.
Article 3 The term “broadcasting” in these Measures means
broadcasting for the first time, deferred broadcasting or rebroadcasting by
a radio or television station, whether by wireless means or by wire.
Article 4 For broadcasting a sound recording, a radio or television
station may conclude an agreement with the copyright collective
administration organization which administers the relevant rights on
payment of a fixed amount of remuneration to the copyright owner each
year; in the absence of such an agreement, or if it fails to reach such an
agreement, the radio or television station may consult with the said
copyright collective administration organization for payment of
remuneration to the copyright owner on the basis of one of the following
methods:
(1) the amount of payment shall be calculated by deducting, as the
cost, 15% of the advertising income of that station or of each channel or
frequency of that station in the current year, and then multiplying the
remainder by the rate of payment provided for in Article 5 or 6 of these
Measures; or
(2) the amount of payment shall be calculated by multiplying that
station’s total time for broadcasting sound recordings in the current year
by the rate of payment for a unit time provided for in Article 7 of these
Measures.
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Article 5 Where it is determined to calculate the amount of
remuneration paid to a copyright owner by the method provided for in
subparagraph (1) of Article 4 of these Measures, the amount of
remuneration shall, for five years beginning from the date on which these
Measures become effective, be paid at the following rates after
consultation:
(1) where the ratio between the time for broadcasting sound
recordings and the total time for broadcasting programs (hereinafter
referred to as the ratio of broadcasting time) of a given station or of the
channel or frequency of that station is less than 1%, the rate of payment
shall be 0.01%;
(2) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 1% but less
than 3%, the rate of payment shall be 0.02%;
(3) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 3% but less
than 6%, the rate of payment shall be 0.09% to 0.15%; whenever the ratio
rises by 1%, the rate of payment shall increase by 0.03% accordingly;
(4) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 6% but not
more than 10%, the rate of payment shall be 0.24% to 0.4%; whenever
the ratio rises by 1%, the rate of payment shall increase by 0.04%
accordingly;
(5) where the ratio of broadcasting time is more than 10% but less
than 30%, the rate of payment shall be 0.5%;
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(6) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 30% but less
than 50%, the rate of payment shall be 0.6%;
(7) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 50% but less
than 80%, the rate of payment shall be 0.7%; or
(8) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 80%, the rate
of payment shall be 0.8%.
Article 6 Where it is determined to calculate the amount of
remuneration paid to a copyright owner by the method provided for in
subparagraph (1) of Article 4 of these Measures, the amount of
remuneration shall, beginning from the date on which five years expire
after these Measures become effective, be paid at the following rates after
consultation:
(1) where the ratio of broadcasting time is less than 1%, the rate of
payment shall be 0.02%;
(2) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 1% but less
than 3%, the rate of payment shall be 0.03%;
(3) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 3% but less
than 6%, the rate of payment shall be 0.12% to 0.2%; whenever the ratio
rises by 1%, the rate of payment shall increase by 0.04% accordingly;
(4) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 6% but not
more than 10%, the rate of payment shall be 0.3% to 0.5%; whenever the
ratio rises by 1%, the rate of payment shall increase by 0.05%
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accordingly;
(5) where the ratio of broadcasting time is more than 10% but less
than 30%, the rate of payment shall be 0.6%;
(6) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 30% but less
than 50%, the rate of payment shall be 0.7%;
(7) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 50% but less
than 80%, the rate of payment shall be 0.8%; or
(8) where the ratio of broadcasting time is not less than 80%, the rate
of payment shall be 0.9%.
Article 7 Where it is determined to calculate the amount of
remuneration paid to a copyright owner by the method provided for in
subparagraph (2) of Article 4 of these Measures, the amount of
remuneration shall be paid at the following rates after consultation:
(1) the rate of unit-time payment by radio stations shall be 0.30 yuan
per minute; or
(2) the rate of unit-time payment by television stations shall be 1.50
yuan per minute for five years beginning from the date on which these
Measures become effective, and shall be 2 yuan per minute from the date
on which five years expire after these Measures become effective.
Article 8 Where a radio or television station, for broadcasting
sound recordings, fails either to reach an agreement with the copyright
collective administration organization which administers the relevant
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rights, on payment of a fixed amount of remuneration, or to decide on,
through consultation, the remuneration payable, as provided for in Article
4 of these Measures, it shall determine the amount of remuneration to be
paid to the said copyright collective administration organization by the
method provided for in subparagraph (1) of Article 4 and at the rates
provided for in Article 5 or 6 of these Measures.
Article 9 Where a radio or television station rebroadcasts sound
recordings broadcasted by another radio or television station, the time for
rebroadcasting sound recordings shall be calculated at 10% of the actual
time for such rebroadcasting.
Article 10 The amount of remuneration to be paid by the method
provided for in these Measures to the copyright owners by radio or
television stations in the central regions shall, for five years beginning
from the date on which these Measures become effective, be 50% of the
amount calculated in accordance with the provisions of these Measures.
The amount of remuneration to be paid by the method provided for
in these Measures to the copyright owners by radio or television stations
in the west regions and by all the specialized channels or frequencies
throughout the country which broadcast programs specially for children,
ethnic minorities or rural areas shall, for five years beginning from the
date on which these Measures become effective, be 10% of the amount
calculated in accordance with the provisions of these Measures; and it
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shall, beginning from the date on which five years expire after these
Measures become effective, be 50% of the amount calculated in
accordance with the provisions of these Measures.
Article 11 The finance department of a people’s government at or
above the county level shall make the expenditure on paying
remuneration to copyright owners for broadcasting sound recordings by a
radio or television station established by the people’s government at the
corresponding level one of the factors in verifying its revenue and
expenditure, which the said department shall, in light of the local
financial conditions, take into overall consideration and for which it shall
make comprehensive arrangements.
Article 12 With respect to payment of remuneration to copyright
owners, a radio or television station shall take a calendar year as the
period of account.
A radio or television station shall, in the first quarter of each year,
deliver the remuneration payable in the previous year to the copyright
collective administration organization, which shall transfer the same to
copyright owners.
When paying remuneration to copyright owners through the
copyright collective administration organization, a radio or television
station shall provide it with such information as the titles of the works
which it broadcasts, the names or titles of the copyright owners and the
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broadcasting time, unless the parties have agreed otherwise.
Article 13 Where a radio or television station, for broadcasting
sound recordings, fails to pay remuneration to copyright owners who are
not members of the copyright collective administration organization
which administers the relevant rights, it shall, in accordance with the
provisions of Article 12 of these Measures, deliver the remuneration
payable to the said copyright collective administration organization,
which shall transfer the same to the copyright owners.
Article 14 Apart from the provisions of these Measures, the
relevant provisions of the Regulations on Copyright Collective
Administration shall apply where the copyright collective administration
organization transfers remuneration to copyright owners.
Article 15 After delivering the remuneration payable to copyright
owners to the copyright collective administration organization in
accordance with the provisions of these Measures, a radio or television
station shall bear no liability for any dispute between the copyright
collective administration organization and copyright owners.
Article 16 Where a dispute arises over the remuneration paid in
accordance with the provisions of these Measures between a radio or
television station and the copyright owners or the copyright collective
administration organization, either party may bring civil proceedings in a
people’s court in accordance with law or apply to an arbitration body for
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arbitration under a written arbitration agreement reached between the
parties.
Article 17 These Measures shall be effective as of January 1,
2010.