May 21, 2004
MCSC sues Capitel, accuses handset maker's ringtones of music copyright infringement
The Music Copyright Society of China (MCSC) has filed a music copyright lawsuit with the Junior People's Court in Chaoyang District, Beijing, against Capitel Co. Ltd, accusing the handset maker of using copyright protected music for ringtones without permission, reports Interfax.
"In June of 2003, the MCSC discovered three models of Capitel mobile phones were using ringtones based on "Liang Zhu" or "Butterfly Lovers," two well-known pieces of Chinese music. According to MCSC, Chen Gang and He Zhanhao, the co-composers of "Butterfly Lovers," who are also members of the MCSC, never authorized Capitel to use the song. MCSC claims that Capitel violated the music copyright for the two songs, as well as infringing on the composers' intellectual property rights (IPR)".
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