MACA Exchanged Ideas on Music Copyright Management in Macau during Visit to the Legislative Assembly

    (Macao, Sep. 25, 2015) – The Macau Association of Composers, Authors & Publishers (MACA) visits the Macau SAR Legislative Assembly on Friday, September 25th 2015. The delegate meets with the President of the Assembly HO Iat Seng to discuss and exchange views on local music copyright management.

     MACA Chairman UNG Kuoc Iang, as the founder of MACA, related the establishment of MACA and its aims to ensure the advancement of creator’s moral interests and the defence of the material interests of creators and publishers. UNG also presents three charity MACA Albums to HO. MACA receives continuous assistance and support from the International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies (CISAC), which is based in Paris, France. Through CISAC, dozens of overseas musical societies have already empowered MACA to represent their members. In other words, MACA is currently managing a worldwide music repertory in Macau. MACA Manager Florence VAN introduces the different categories of public performance licences, the standard of the licence fees and the status quo of the music licensing in Macau.

     In the meeting, President HO welcomes representatives from MACA and affirms to the work done through the years. HO points out that protecting intellectual property, raising public awareness in the present fast-pace society is a real challenge and a long and arduous process. Sufficient work on promotion should be done so that the public is clear about the difference between playing music in private and public places, and get a better understanding of music copyright. HO also suggests MACA should seek long term cooperation with the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) and the Cultural Affairs Bureau (ICM) of the Macau government to push forward the concept of copyright and enhance the sustainable development of the cultural and creative industry. With the help from DSEJ, MACA can popularize the concept of music copyright protection among students; with ICM, work together on more cultural and social activities for the local music industry. In addition, HO suggests, with help from the Macau government, MACA should consider adopting the Public Service Announcement as used by the educational work in Mainland China.

MACA’s Chairman UNG Kuok Iang (2nd right), Manager Florence VAN (2nd left), Licensing Officer Terry LEE (1st left) and Marketing Officer Fiona CHOI (1st right) were received by HO Iat Seng (middle)