Recently, Guo Youcai, a young barbecue restaurant owner, successfully broke out of the entertainment industry by singing a cover of an old song from the 1990s called "Promise" during a live broadcast at Heze South Station in Shandong Province. In just over ten days, the number of fans of his account "Guo Youcai (Mr. Hezeshu)" on the Douyin platform increased from hundreds of thousands to 10 million. After
became popular, Guo Youcai attracted the attention of the entire Internet, and gradually revealed some hidden worries: Is it authorized to cover old songs? Does the gathering of Internet celebrities at Heze South Station have an impact on the lives of local residents? There are many opinions on the Internet about him, his girlfriend and other related people, and there are even rumors that he was "accepted by Peking University". These information flows from different levels make Guo Youcai's future live broadcast road destined to be difficult to smooth sailing. Is
's cover of "Promise" authorized? 's original singer and copyright company refused to respond
One of the hotly debated issues currently is whether the old songs sung by Guo Youcai were authorized by the copyright owner?
Guo Youcai is in the live broadcast.
Guo Youcai is not a singer-songwriter himself, but covers other people's works. The most famous one is "Promise", which was originally sung by Taiwanese female singer Li Yijun. It was released on January 1, 1995 and included in the album "Promise".
In fact, almost all of Guo Youcai's cover songs face copyright issues: Fans request songs during his live broadcast, and he sings them immediately, with constant rewards in the live broadcast room. Are these songs authorized by the copyright owner? Once the copyright owner comes forward to investigate, will Guo Youcai be unable to live broadcast?
Recently, some music lovers pointed out that according to my country's Copyright Law, covering and disseminating other people's works for the purpose of commercial profit may involve infringement. Guo Youcai accepted a large amount of rewards in the live broadcast room, which was actually a cover act for the purpose of profit. Therefore, if the songwriter or his company sues, Guo Youcai is likely to lose the case.
upstream news reporters noticed that Guo Youcai sang "Promise" many times in live broadcasts. On May 19, Guo Youcai's number of fans on the live broadcast platform exceeded 10 million, and the number of viewers in the live broadcast room was 52.385 million. In the "Promise" mv released by Douyin The original singer and songwriter are not noted.
Some netizens believe that as long as Guo Youcai does not perform commercial performances, it does not constitute infringement; others pointed out that the copyright of "Promise" belongs to Universal Music, and Guo Youcai may really need to worry about copyright issues.
Upstream journalists searched among the works managed by the China Music Copyright Association and found that there was no "Promise" by Li Yijun. The song was included in the album of the same name and was released by Shanghua Records in January 1995. In February 1999, Universal Music Group spent a huge amount of money to acquire PolyGram Group, one of the world's largest record companies, including PolyGram's subsidiaries such as Shanghua and Foremost. Mexia Music Copyright Agency (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Mexia Music), a wholly-owned subsidiary established by Universal Music Copyright Management Group in China in 2019, is mainly responsible for the copyright operation and management of Universal Music in mainland China.
html On May 20, a reporter from Upstream News called Mexia Music, and the relevant staff said that it was inconvenient to reply to relevant questions. Upstream News reporters contacted Li Yijun’s business team, and the staff declined the interview request.Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, believes that Guo Youcai's cover songs and accepting rewards in the live broadcast room are profit-making activities. He is suspected of infringing the copyright of others and should be authorized by the original author and paid. According to Article 37 of the Copyright Law, when using other people’s works for performances, performers (actors, performance units) must obtain permission from the copyright owner and pay remuneration. The anchor performs in the live broadcast room, attracts a large number of netizens to watch, and gives out gifts, which brings huge traffic to the anchor, and then earns income. The essence of his live broadcast behavior is an exchange of economic interests, which does not comply with the situation of fair use under the Copyright Law and is suspected of infringement. Copyright holder’s copyright.
However, upstream news reporters noticed that Li Yijun's Douyin account uploaded the a cappella and chorus versions of "Promise" on May 16 and 18. Many fans commented that they liked it, and a small number of fans bluntly stated that they "supported the recovery of copyright." .In the video on the 16th, Li Yijun seemed to respond to the situation of someone singing a cover song. She said: "Thank you everyone for liking "The Promise". I have watched many friends' videos and everyone sang so beautifully."
The rights holder did not explicitly object to other people's performances. Can others perform my own work?
In August 2010, Wang Xu and Liu Gang's "Rising Sun Masculine" group became popular on the Internet with their cover of Wang Feng's song "In Spring". They participated in "Avenue of Stars" and won the annual runner-up, and appeared on the 2011 CCTV Spring Festival Gala. Wang Feng initially expressed support for this, but in February 2011, he banned "Rising Sun Yang Gang" from singing "In Spring" in any form, saying that he did not want his goodwill to be taken advantage of. Subsequently, the two parties reached a settlement, and Wang Feng accepted the apology from "Rising Sun Masculine".
Shi Lei, head of the intellectual property team of the Commercial Tribunal of Shanghai Minhang District Court, believes that in real life, many rights holders will tacitly grant permission to others verbally or behaviorally in order to allow their works to be more widely disseminated. perform their own work, but this permission is precarious for the performer. Strictly speaking, the permitted use of copyright needs to clearly indicate the time, geographical scope and method of permitted use. Once the rights holder believes that the method and scope of use exceed the authorization due to verbal or behavioral acquiescence, disputes may arise between the two parties.
Are 400,000 daily visitors disturbing the public? Heze began to persuade live broadcasters to leave
After Guo Youcai became famous, the location of his live broadcast, Heze South Station, also became famous. Facing the swarming flow of people, the relevant local departments carried out effective regulation and management of Heze South Station.
Heze South Railway Station Square was bustling with a large number of onlookers, traffic anchors and local businesses.
Many people think that Heze South Station is abandoned, but it is not. According to a staff member of the Shandong Provincial Department of Transportation, the Heze South Station, built in 1978, has indeed stopped passenger transportation operations, but it is still responsible for train receiving and dispatching operations, and there are currently fixed staff on duty. Upstream News reporters learned that before the 17th, more than 400,000 tourists flocked to Heze South Station every day to listen to Guo Youcai's singing. To this end, asphalt was paved in front of the train station, the steps in front of the station were repaired, and the station name light board on the station building was lit again.
Recently, other Internet celebrities who broadcast live at Heze South Railway Station have attracted controversy because of their strange costumes. Some of them dressed up as Nezha, Sun Wukong, Jigong, etc., and some performed fashion shows, hot dances, etc. The video of "Dancing Demons" attracted controversy. Upstream News reporters learned that as early as May 13, law enforcement officers from the Mudan District Culture and Tourism Bureau stopped a vulgar live broadcast at Heze South Station and gave verbal education on the spot. It is understood that in order to prevent disturbing the residents, the Mudan District Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Brigade will persuade live broadcasters to leave starting at 9 p.m.
In addition, the Heze Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League, the Mudan District Nancheng Subdistrict Office, and the Heze Culture and Tourism Bureau have all formed a volunteer service team to serve everyone at the South Station Square. Security guards and police are also on duty at the site.
Upstream news reporters noticed that some tourists online reported that there were too few restrooms on site and it was inconvenient. In addition, there are many residential areas near South Station Square. Will this wave of traffic brought by Guo Youcai cause trouble to local residents? Mr. Wang, a volunteer at the site, said that the bathroom problem did exist at the beginning, but the situation has been greatly improved, and this wave of traffic has not yet affected surrounding residents. On the 19th, a staff member of the Nancheng Subdistrict Office also confirmed that because Guo Youcai’s live broadcasts usually end in more than two hours in the morning, there have been no complaints from residents about disturbing residents.
Due to the 2024 spring college entrance examination, there are examination centers at schools near Heze South Station. All recreational activities will be suspended in the Heze South Station Square from May 17th to 19th, and will return to normal on May 20th. But Guo Youcai did not go to South Station for live broadcast on May 20.
In fact, Guo Youcai's barbecue restaurant also saw a large number of people and was included in the supervision scope of the relevant departments. On May 16, law enforcement officers came to Guo Youcai’s roasted kidney shop, gave masks to mobile vendors, and inspected and informed them of food safety and fire safety issues.
Are the online “revealing” articles true? Lawyer: May be suspected of infringement
After Guo Youcai became famous, a large number of so-called "revealing" articles about his personal experience, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend's mother appeared on the Internet.
Upstream news reporters saw that there were many articles on the Internet similar to "Girlfriend Su Chang was exposed to live a luxurious life, and the grassroots image collapsed", "The vision is too poisonous, the mother-in-law met Guo Youcai for the first time and received high praise, and the photos were exposed to be more beautiful than Su Chang", "Guo Youcai's explosion" "Fire, what little-known secrets are hidden behind it" and other articles. The titles of these online articles are eye-catching, but the authenticity of the content is difficult to distinguish. There are even rumors that "Peking University has admitted Guo Youcai under special circumstances."
Various anchors appear at Heze South Station.
After Guo Youcai sang live during the day, he still had to go back to his home barbecue restaurant to work at night. No matter where he was, there were a lot of people watching and taking pictures. Some of these people are ordinary tourists and fans, while others are live broadcast anchors who have been following Guo Youcai's life continuously. Due to the large number of fans and anchors, traffic jams near Guo Youcai's roasted kidney shop led to local authorities dispatching officers to maintain order at the scene.
Recently, news about "Yu Yifan from the Admissions Office of Peking University proactively contacted Internet celebrity Guo Youcai and decided to admit him to Peking University for further study" has also begun to circulate on the Internet. At the same time, there are also many articles on the Internet such as "Famous universities are eager for quick success", "Peking University also wants to take advantage of the traffic of Internet celebrities", "As long as you become an Internet celebrity, you can enter Peking University, a first-class university", "Peking University has added Internet celebrity majors", etc. Questioning the voice of Peking University.
On the evening of May 18, a media reporter learned from the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Peking University that Peking University had conducted verification and found that "Yu Yifan" was not a faculty member of the school, let alone an admissions teacher. Peking University had not contacted Guo Youcai, and Peking University's "admissions teacher" made an exception. The admission of Internet celebrity Guo Youcai" is false news. Lawyers at
emphasized that anchors and tourists may continue to follow or post related videos and photos in order to attract attention, and may be suspected of leaking or abusing information. This not only violates Guo Youcai's privacy, but may also violate the law. Hosts and viewers should respect the privacy rights of others and avoid inappropriate disclosure or misuse of personal information. A large number of so-called "revealing" articles are also likely to involve some false information, and forwarding and spreading rumors are more likely to be suspected of infringement.
Is imitation show infringement in many places across the country? Guo Youcai: Don’t mind
Guo Youcai has become popular, and many anchors have begun to imitate his appearance for live broadcasts. Recently, various "talented" people have appeared in front of train stations across the country: these people not only have similar live broadcast locations, similar clothes, and enhanced lenses With the same filter, even without a beard, you still need to put on makeup to look like Guo Youcai. The most outrageous thing is that some female anchors also wear the same clothes as Guo Youcai and have beards during live broadcasts. However, in an interview with reporters, Guo Youcai said that he did not mind being imitated.
In front of Heze South Station, Guo Youcai's imitator was live broadcasting.
He said: "I noticed it. Thank you everyone for your recognition of my live broadcast style. Every anchor has his or her own dedication and efforts, and they all have something worth learning. I will also visit their live broadcast room after watching it. "If there is a song that suits me, I will also learn it." He said, "I don't mind if people imitate me. I also like the movie "Hello, Mr. Tree". I feel that Mr. Shu’s carefree feeling is so cool that he is called ‘Heze Shuge’. I think everyone can be Mr. Shu.”
Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, believes that Ruoyuan’s portrait. The copyright owner does not pursue the imitator's infringement of portrait rights, and does not cause harm to the public interests. This kind of simple imitation behavior has relatively low legal risks. However, if a public performance is performed without the permission of the original copyright owner, it is still an infringement of other people's copyrights. If it causes damage to their portrait and reputation in the name of imitation, it will infringe on their civil rights.
Upstream News Reporters Tang Hao and Yang Bo Part of the content is synthesized from The Paper, Dazhong.com, Top News, New Yellow River, etc. Picture source/Internet
