China to Regulate On-line Audio-Visual Business

China will regulate the audio-visual business on the Internet so as to protect intellectual property and develop a healthy market, according to a notice issued by the Ministry of Culture.

The notice said, every Internet operator must have a legal permit, and the audio-visual products they deal in must not include pirated, smuggled or otherwise illegal ones.

No imported end products nor MP3 downloads are allowed to be traded on line. Wholesale trading is forbidden as well.

No IT website with foreign investment is allowed to do business in audio-visual products on the Internet.

Legally authorized traders should show the numbers of their licenses for operation and the telephone numbers of the issuing departments on the web page.

Any violation of this notice will be punished by the audio-visual market supervision department according to relevant laws and regulations, said the notice. Complaints can be sent to yxccnt.gov.cn., opened by the Ministry of Culture.

For on-line audio-visual product dealers now in operation, the relevant licenses must be obtained before May 1 this year, according to the notice.

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