The Macau Customs Service (SA) is investigating suspected copyright infringements in two local karaoke bars, but could not confirm right away whether there was any infringement of the copyright of certain songs, according to local media reports yesterday.
Two karaoke bars located in a hotel in Avenida Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues and a commercial centre in Zape respectively, have been accused by “someone” of the infringement of intellectual property rights, according to the reports.
The Customs Service said, according to the news reports, that it still needed to examine the authorisation documents issued by the copyright owners and check the copyright concerning a number of songs. However, the complainant was unable to provide a list of the songs whose copyright was allegedly infringed by the karaoke bars and the copyright documents regarding the songs, the reports said.
Therefore, the reports said, the Customs Service has recently questioned the person in charge of the two karaoke bars and the copyright complainant to its headquarters to assist in the investigation.
The Customs Service said since the case is still under investigation, it is not in a position to disclose further details due to the principle of judicial secrecy, the reports said, adding that it will carry out further investigations and take action if criminal infringement is detected.
The Post received a statement from the Macau Association of Composers, Authors & Publishers (MACA) last week by e-mail claiming that it found a number of songs were being used for commercial purposes without permission in two local karaoke bars, because of which MACA board member Ung Kuoc Iang requested Customs Services officer to inspect the two karaoke bars right away.
The MACA statement said it had filed criminal and civil proceedings with Macau’s Public Prosecutions Office (MP) and Macau’s Court of First Instance (TJB) through judicial proceedings.
The association announced on its official social media platform last night that it will hold a “MACA Open Day” event tomorrow to address the issue of music copyright management in Macau that “has become a matter of concern by members of the public recently”. The event will be held at the association’s headquarters from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Kin Heng Long Plaza, 10th floor, Apt. C.
According to MACA’s official website, the association says that it is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation (NGO) established to collectively manage and license the public performance and communication rights of musical works on behalf of both local and non-local right owners.
This handout photo provided by the Macau Association of Composers, Authors & Publishers (MACA) last Tuesday shows MACA board member Ung Kuoc Iang being interviewed by local media in a karaoke bar.
