Online Music Piracy: Can American Solutions Be Exported to the People's Republic of China to Protect American Music?

Online music piracy is a major problem in the United States and a growing problem in the People's Republic of China ("PRC"). Despite awareness of the roots of the problem, the responses of the American government and recording industry have enjoyed only mixed success. The most effective ways of combating online music piracy have been the legal pursuit of individual copyright infringers and the emergence of fee-based download services. In light of the differences in social background, laws, enforcement structure, and cultural beliefs between the United States and the PRC, simply transplanting American responses to online music piracy to the PRC will not be effective.

In order to truly prevent the problem from reaching significant proportions in the PRC, the American recording industry and the Chinese government must make copyright protection desirable in Chinese culture. Only by creating an internal demand for copyright can the American recording industry protect itself in the PRC.