Free Consultation
(323) 300-4184
info@omnilawpc.com

Mon – Fri: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm PST

Free Consultation

China’s music streaming giants are not Spotify or Apple Music, but Tencent and NetEase. The nature of Tencent’s growth has meant exclusive deals on music libraries from Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. These exclusive deals means that competitors must sublease music from Tencent, making a case for intellectual property infringement. 

One of those artists caught in this mess is Jay Chou, the “King of Asian Pop,” a Taiwanese singer. His music catalog was the “subject of a lawsuit between Tencent and NetEase over the past year. But just this past week, a Shenzhen court ruled that NetEase had to pay Tencent 850,000 yuan (US$121,500) for allowing users to download the Mandopop star’s songs.” 

Court documents explain that NetEase did not continue it’s sublicensing contract in 2017 after Tencent charged twice as much as they did in the previous year for the same songs. NetEase created a problem though by, “continuing to offer Chou’s songs and notifying users to download the songs as soon as possible.” NetEase apologized and said that they had “made a serious mistake,” and will pay a fine of $121,500 to Tencent. 

 

Forrester senior analyst Xiaofeng Wang. “Whoever owns the IP or paid for the IP has the preserved rights.”

– Excerpt from an article for Abacus by Xinmei Shen. Find the full article here

—————————————————————————————————————————–

Disclaimer: Please note that the information contained within this news post and site is offered simply as a consideration to visitors who are in the entertainment industry and are seeking to learn more about various areas of entertainment, be it in film, movies, television, music, digital, new media, film financing, merchandising and/or branding. As such, the information so provided should never be construed as legal advice. If you need further assistance or legal advice for your specific matter, please do not hesitate in contacting an entertainment attorney (film, music, digital, licensing, financing) here in Los Angeles, California at The Hollywood Lawyer by(1) emailing us at info@hollywoodlawyer.com; (2) calling us at (323) 300-4184; or (3) filling out our online form

Related Posts

Free Consultation