The 2012 IT heads' summit was conducted in Shenzhen on March 25. A sub-symposium themed "New Media: Cultural Hybridity and Innovation" focused on conflicts between copyright protection and new media's development.

Talking about the challenges faced by the new media industry, Wang Zhongjun, Chairman of Huayi Brothers Media Corporation, said, "New media industry benefits more from copyright protection. I have ever challenged Thunder as many pirated works appeared on it." Prior to the symposium, Wang has ever publicly criticized Thunder for its infringing activities.

In response to Wang's statement, Thunder CEO Zou Shenglong argued, "In the process of Internet development, copyright owners and video industry are making efforts in finding a compromising solution. In addition, video industry is capable of promoting content distribution and new business model."

"Currently, we have more than three million paying users on a monthly basis," added Zou.

A8 Music CEO Liu Xiaosong also believed that the contradiction between copyright system and new media is still obvious. New media develops rapidly while copyright authorizing system still stays where it was, which will greatly hinder further development of video industry. "Only with a more open copyright policy could video industry in China enjoy a rapid growth," said Liu.

Since January, 2012, major music websites have made great progress in protecting copyright. They plan to take actions to promote licensed contents online before this August, added Liu.

However, Zou is not as optimistic as Liu. He said, "Only if copyright purchasers could make profit on what they buy would they keep on doing this. Therefore, it takes time to eliminate all pirated contents online." [Chinese version is available on tech.163.com]

(Source: IPR in China)