New copyright trading base set up in FTZ

Move aims to boost cross-border transactions

A national copyright trading base was launched in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) Thursday, with the aim of using the advantages of the FTZ to promote the copyright industry, Chinese financial news portal yicai.com reported Thursday.

The national-level copyright trading base, which is the first of its kind in the Yangtze River Delta region, was approved by the National Copyright Administration on September 28, the report said.

Xu Jiong, director of the Shanghai Copyright Administration, said that the new base will protect copyright and encourage cross-border transactions for cultural products, according to the report.

Beneficial trade policies for the FTZ and the financial reforms that have been conducted there have already been positive for copyright trade growth, it noted.

The national base can be a helpful platform for individuals to sell the copyrights for their works, Wang Qian, a professor with the School of Intellectual Property at the East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, told the Global Times Thursday.

However, it may not be that effective in terms of large-scale copyright transactions, such as for foreign movies, TV dramas or literature works that the Chinese market usually buys, he noted.

The copyrights for these cultural products are mainly held by large companies. For instance, the copyrights for animated films are dominated by two US-based firms - Walt Disney Company and Pixar Animation Studios - Wang noted.

For larger transactions such as this, sellers and buyers can easily reach each other without needing any special platforms, according to Wang.

Zhao Zhanling, a Beijing-based intellectual property lawyer, agreed with Wang and said that small copyright transactions may benefit from the new base in Shanghai.

Usually, copyright transactions for more popular products such as TV shows are dominated by a small number of companies, he told the Global Times Thursday.

For example, the fierce competition among China's online video websites for copyrights for popular US TV dramas in previous years has forced up the prices, even if the battle for copyright has been less intense since two major video websites - youku.com and tudou.com - merged in August.

The new base in Shanghai might function as more than just a platform, according to financial news portal cs.com.cn, which reported Thursday that the base will seek policy breakthroughs in fields such as tax, financing and registration for copyright trade.

The FTZ facilitates overseas art works' entry into the domestic market with fast customs clearance, and tariff and value-added tax (VAT) payments can be delayed until after sales rather than before, Li Wei, an employee at a cultural communications firm in Shanghai, was quoted as saying in the yicai.com report. Overseas buyers do not pay the 8 percent tariff and 17 percent VAT if cultural products are purchased through the FTZ, Li said.

China's copyright trade is still at an early stage, cs.com.cn reported Thursday.

Cross-border copyright trade revenue is decided by a country's soft power, Wang said, noting that China does not currently export as many cultural products as it imports.