Dongguan Times, October 15, 2010

Dongguan Times reports on a new charge for internet cafés and long distance buses commencing on January 1, 2011. Although it was reported in May that long distance buses and internet cafés might be charged for showing films through a newly developed digital distribution platform, media is now reporting that locally acquired "people with connections" will be given the duty of collecting fees.

The Dongguan Times went with a really innovative design, issuing a fake letter from the China Film Copyright Association. Yesterday, at the Jiangyin Golden Rooster Hundred Flowers Film Festival, Zhu Yongde (朱永德), the CEO of China Film Copyright Association and the President of the Copyright Society of China, announced that the National Copyright Administration had approved of the plan to collect fees for film copyright and that they would use local connections to get the fees. The mock letter is below:

Fee Notice

To all internet café owners and long distance buses,

On January 1, next year, your internet cafés and long distance buses which show films you must pay a fee to the China Film Copyright Association (中国电影著作权协会). We won't be sending our people to collect it, but will recruit local "people with connections." They will give you a temporary receipt, after we receive the money we'll give you an official receipt to get the temporary one back. If you don't want to pay the fee, then we will take you to court. Apart from this, the standards for payment is this: Fee for internet café: number of computers x standard of fees per hour x 7.5%; long distance bus annual fee: 365~500 RMB.

2010.10.14 China Film Copyright Association

There has been a precedent of the Music Copyright Association of China trying to do just this with songs sang at KTV. The Yangzte Evening Post reports that the method of fee collection was inspired by the Music Association failing at going door-to-door themselves － rather, going with local 'connected people' seems to be easier.