Chao News Client reporter Song Hao intern Yang Boyue
Recently, the well-known musician Zhao Chuan said on Weibo, "I am a Little Bird was used in the drama "Flowers", and no one came to negotiate for the right to use the recording before. , I am the person who owns the rights to the recording, but no one has contacted me." The incident once again triggered public discussion on the protection of intellectual property rights.
The TV series "Flowers" directed by Wong Kar-Wai and starring Hu Ge and others is a hit series at the end of 2023. The play uses a number of old song elements such as Zhao Chuan's "I Am a Little Bird", Jiang Yuheng's "Looking Back Again", Huang An's "New Mandarin Ducks and Butterfly Dreams", Jacky Cheung's "Stealing Hearts", beyond "No More Hesitation", etc. The audience travels back to the 1990s.
"I'm a Little Bird" is one of singer Zhao Chuan's masterpieces and was included in the album of the same name released in 1990. This song was written and composed by Li Zongsheng, and was written to his friend Zhao Chuan. The song
caused a huge response after it was released, "Everyone who knows my name/How are you/The world is so small/We are destined to have nowhere to escape/When I have tasted all the warmth and coldness of human kindness/When you decide to burn for your ideals /Which one is more important, the pressure of life or the dignity of life?" How to place the individual's sense of insignificance in the context of the big era? The emotions in the song are easily relatable, and this song is also regarded by many as an inspirational song for life.
The voice of the times in "I Am a Little Bird" is also the reason why "Flowers" chose it as an element in the play. Zhao Chuan's voice adds color to the character Tao Tao (played by Chen Long) in the play. Many viewers' interpretation of the character Tao Tao starts with this song.
In response to Zhao Chuan's doubts, the producer of the TV series "Flowers" responded on January 30 that it had contacted Zhao Chuan and the copyright team as soon as possible and made corresponding explanations and communications. The crew said they deeply regretted the incident and promised to resolve the matter as soon as possible.
According to 36Kr, an insider revealed, "I had heard before that when "Flowers" was about to be broadcast, I was still busy clearing the music copyrights, and some copyrights were not processed until after the broadcast." Now Zhao Chuan's doubts seem to have been revealed In terms of copyright processing, there is the issue of "getting on the bus first and paying for the ticket later".
So, how to understand the infringement declared by Zhao Chuan?
Ding Tao, a lawyer at Guangdong Zhuojian Law Firm, explained in an interview with Oriental Net that the copyright of a song is divided into four parts, referred to as lyrics, music, singing and recording. Usually in the absence of a copyright ownership agreement, the song's lyrics and composition copyright belong to the original author; the recording producer's rights belong to the person or organization that invested the cost to record the song, usually the singer's turntable company; the singer himself enjoys the performance rights rights. "A song must be authorized by four parties at the same time."
However, song copyrights often undergo copyright transfer transactions. Based on the extensive use of Hong Kong and Taiwan pop music in "Flowers", Ding Tao judged that the producer should have done relevant copyright clearance Work. However, there may be copyright disputes or unclear ownership of the song itself, which is currently unknown. After the
incident, singer Huang An also joined the discussion to educate everyone about the copyright issues of songs.
He took "New Mandarin Duck and Butterfly Dream" as an example. The copyright of the lyrics and music of the song belongs to Huang An, the copyright of the recording (of Huang An's singing version) belongs to Shanghua Records, and the performer's rights belong to Huang An. "Flowers" uses this song, sung by Zheng Kai, and only needs to obtain the copyright of Huang An's lyrics and music, and does not need to consider the recording and production rights of Shanghua Records. Huang An said that the producer of "Flowers" did pay him a fee (for the copyright of lyrics and music).
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