The 2015 fantasy film "Nine Layers of Demon Tower" was embroiled in a three-year legal dispute due to a 1 minute and 12 seconds restaurant singing scene in the movie. The classic song "Late" composed by Taiwanese musician Chen Peter was embedded into the film without the direct authorization of the copyright holder. As a result, Chen Peter sued four production companies—China Film Corporation, Dreamaker Film (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Le Vision Pictures (Beijing) Co., Ltd., and Beijing Universal Art Film Co., Ltd.—and listed the China Music Copyright Association as a third party. He demanded 1 million RMB in compensation and a public apology to the original author.


During the trial at the Chaoyang District Court in Beijing, it was pointed out that the core issue of the case was the legality of the authorization chain. As the composer and lyricist of "Late," Chen Peter had neither joined the China Music Copyright Association nor transferred the copyright to any organization, which meant he legally retained the complete copyright to the work. Although the China Music Copyright Association claimed to have obtained management rights through a cooperation agreement with a Taiwanese industry organization, the court found that such cross-border agreements only covered the three basic rights of public performance, broadcasting, and transmission recognized by the laws of Taiwan. The derivative rights involved in film production, such as the right to reproduce and the right to make a film adaptation, were not within the scope of authorization. When "Nine Layers of Demon Tower" included the song in the film's master tape and commercially disseminated it, it had in fact crossed the boundary of lawful use, constituting a typical case of overstepping authorization.


While firmly determining that infringement had occurred, the court innovatively adopted a relief plan of "economic compensation in lieu of an injunction." Data showed that removing the infringing segment, which accounted for only 0.97% of the film's total duration, could have led to the film being taken off the shelves, causing losses of tens of millions of RMB. The judge, referring to the actual payment of 195,000 RMB for authorization, and considering factors such as the work's contribution and industry rates, ultimately increased the compensation to 300,000 RMB.


The four defendants and the third party were dissatisfied with the judgment and appealed to the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. However, after the second trial, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court held that the involved actions of the defendant companies had infringed upon Chen Peter's rights of reproduction, distribution, film adaptation, and modification. They should bear civil liabilities such as ceasing infringement, making an apology, and compensating for losses according to the circumstances. The court ruled to dismiss the appeals of the four China Film companies and the China Music Copyright Association, upheld the original judgment, and declared that the judgment was final.


The implications of this case for the cultural industry extend far beyond the individual case itself and have also exposed the urgent need for a systematic solution to the copyright pitfalls in the music industry. This judicial approach, which firmly upholds the copyright bottom line of "authorization before use" while avoiding a "one-size-fits-all" approach that would hinder the dissemination of cultural products, provides important references for similar cases. The common practice in film and television production of "using first and paying later" poses significant legal risks, especially when involving cross-border works, where the ownership of rights often involves multi-level agency relationships. It marks the transition of China's copyright protection from a coarse-grained approach to a more refined governance model. This requires users to establish a more rigorous authorization review system and also promotes collective management organizations to improve cross-border cooperation rules. This seemingly simple dispute over the use of music in a film actually reveals the systemic risks in the field of copyright compliance in the film and television music industry and exposes the complex pitfalls of cross-border copyright management.