Attention! Random music composition in short videos or suspected infringement in Zhejiang | Company | Video
In the era of short videos, in order to enhance the richness of audio-visual content, background music has become an indispensable and important element. However, random music composition in short videos may also be suspected of infringement. Recently, the People's Court of Tongxiang City, Zhejiang Province, tried a dispute over infringement of the right to information network dissemination.
Xiaoxu Music is a famous music production company in China. In 2022, Xiaoxu Music authorized the relevant rights required for the video and audio synchronization of music works such as The City of Watching the Moon in Internet advertising to an intellectual property company in Zhejiang. Subsequently, an intellectual property company in Zhejiang discovered that a business company in Tongxiang used music clips from Xiaoxu Music's "City of the Moon" to promote products on its online store page. They sued the court and demanded compensation for the losses.
The court believes that a commercial company in Tongxiang, without permission, displayed music clips of "City of the Moon" on its online store page to the public, infringing on the information network dissemination rights enjoyed by an intellectual property company in Zhejiang over the work. Although a commercial company in Tongxiang has stopped infringing, it still needs to compensate for the corresponding losses. Considering that a business company in Tongxiang did not make significant profits from using the music, and a Zhejiang intellectual property company incurred necessary evidence collection and rights protection costs, the court mediated the compensation amount.
In the end, a business company in Tongxiang agreed to compensate a Zhejiang intellectual property company with 2800 yuan and paid the compensation on the spot.
![Attention! Random music composition in short videos or suspected infringement in Zhejiang | Company | Video](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/5db37f1c672a705392c3b3f1a292b619.jpg)
The judge's statement
The handling judge stated that generally, short video platforms require users to ensure that the uploaded audio and other materials are original or have obtained legal authorization in their user agreements. Therefore, without obtaining legal authorization for music, creating videos and adding background music to upload platforms may constitute infringement.
If, after uploading a video, it is set as a private video or other mode that is not publicly disclosed to unspecified objects, the perpetrator can still use the system reasonably to avoid liability. However, if the video is publicly displayed to the public, whether it is used for personal or commercial purposes, it has already departed from the premise of "for personal learning, research, or appreciation" as a reasonable use, and the perpetrator needs to bear tort liability. In this case, a business company in Tongxiang used the background music to attract customers, which clearly had commercial purposes and should bear corresponding compensation responsibilities.