Newsletter
APPLICABILITY OF COPYRIGHT LAW ART. 37 PARA. 6
Article 37 Paragraph 6 of the Copyright Law provides: "The provisions of Chapter VII shall not apply where a musical work is licensed for reproduction on computer karaoke machines and an exploiter uses such a karaoke machine to publicly perform the work, except in the case of a musical work managed by a copyright interme-diary organization." In a recent interpretation concerning the applicability of this provision, the IPO stated that when an exploiter who has not obtained a license for public performance uses a computer karaoke machine to publicly perform music reproduced on that karaoke machine, he must meet the following conditions so as to be immune from criminal penalties: (1) that the musical work concerned is "licensed for repro-duction" on computer karaoke machines, and (2) that the work concerned is not managed by a copyright intermediary organization. Further-more, the above provision applies equally to computer karaoke machines for "domestic use" and those for "business use."