Its counterparts in Beijing, Shanghai and Changsha also said they would boycott the charge.

As awareness of intellectual property rights has raised the necessity and obligation to pay for the commercial use of cultural products, no one challenges the consensus that karaoke bars should pay for the commercial use of compact discs and video clips.

The controversy is focused on who has the right to charge such fees, how much the karaoke bars should pay and how the collected money will be fairly distributed among rights holders.

In its announcement, the SCB said that the China Audio and Video Collective Management Association would charge such copyright fees on behalf of music creators and producers. But the association is yet to be registered as a legal organization. As a result, it has authorized another association to collect the charges on its behalf.

Karaoke bar associations in various localities have questioned the legality of such authorization, and also expressed doubts as to whether the association has represented the majority of music creators and producers.

In addition, the SCB announcement fails to explain on what ground the 12-yuan charge is based. If such a charge is imposed on karaoke bars nationwide, a considerable sum of money will be collected.

The SCB announcement fails to give a detailed explanation as to how the money will be distributed and whether there is a mechanism to supervise the management and distribution of this money.

If the SCB or its subordinate organizations have conducted investigations before making decisions on the standard charge, the investigation results should be published to prove that the charge is reasonable. If it has already made detailed rules or established a mechanism to scrutinize the distribution and use of the collected money, it should also make it known to the public.

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