Page 286 - A Study on the Role of UGC Platforms in Copyright Law：An Intermediary-oriented Approach

A Study on the Role of UGC Platforms in Copyright Law: Appendix 5 Interview Record (Participant D)
An Intermediary-oriented Approach

Huang: I have an interesting question. Can fans reward your emotion series? Has anyone
rewarded?
Participant D: Yes, we have received many rewards.
Huang: As a creator, will you get some dividends? Is the reward held by your team that
engage in creation, or shared by all staff of the channel?
Participant D: Well, the amount of reward is not big so the reward will become the funds of
our team. It will be used for our work but not be given to individuals.

Huang: Is there a commissioned relationship between you and your cartoonist? Do you have
an agreement about the copyright holder?
Participant D: Yes. We are the copyright holder.

Participant D: We have an App named “Drama and Quyi Bar（唱戏吧）”, similar to the
App “Sing Bar（唱吧）.” We get copyright license of all songs and accompanies from
performers and we pay them according to the numbers of the songs and accompanies we
use.
Huang: Interesting. Can I ask how does your App get money? Are there many advertisers?
Participant D: Well, I think it is a pure public service. Although we have signed employment
contracts with the enterprise, our working environment is similar to that in public
institutions. Besides, it is very difficult to make money in dramatic and quyi industry.
Huang: Do you know the users for the App?
Participant D: More than one hundred thousands.
Huang: That’s not a small number.

Huang: I guess you choose this profession out of your interest, rigiht?
Participant D: Absolutely! It is difficult to persist if you have no interest.
Huang: Do you put your name on the original articles that you write for the public account?
Do they constitute service works? Who is the copyright owner?
Participant D: I will put my names on occasionally. But most often I will not indicate my
name because some advertisements and promotion will follow my original content. I
am afraid to make mistakes. And as an official account, it cannot say too much personal
opinions. Generally speaking, my works are service works.

Huang: But in China, the copyright holders of service works are still the actual writers.
Only if a work is created according to the intention and under the supervision and
responsibility of a legal entity or another organization, such legal entity or organization
shall be the author of the work. Nevertheless, the boundary between service works and
works for legal entity is blurred. Anyway you wouldn’t care much about copyright,
would you?

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