CISAC goes East, opens in Beijing

A media release entitled "CISAC sets up new Regional Office in China" was received not once but twice this morning by this blogger, which announces the following:

In a move to boost the promotion and protection of creators’ interests in the region, CISAC, the International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies, announced the opening of its new Asia-Pacific office in Beijing. An official ceremony to celebrate the event took place this week with the participation of famous creators, high-level government official and industry executives from across the region. ...

CISAC ... has officially launched its new Regional Asia-Pacific office ... after successfully obtaining the support of Chinese authorities. The office will coordinate the protection and promotion of authors’ interests throughout the region.

CISAC Director General, Olivier Hinnewinkel, said:

“We are pleased to announce that we have received the full support of the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) to set up our office in Beijing. China is a vibrant artistic market and it is vital to CISAC that the rights of creators, in all repertoires, are recognised and protected in this country and throughout the region.

The NCAC is a valuable partner for CISAC to achieve this goal and we truly appreciate the Chinese government’s support. We are proud to celebrate the opening of our new home in Asia by bringing the creative community to the vibrant Beijing, a city blessed with creators and creativity. Our opening ceremony and the seminar that follows mark the beginning of a new era for us and our 3-million strong creators’ community in the region.”

The opening ceremony ... was followed by a seminar on the future of copyright and collective management in the region, focusing on the essential role that it plays in the lives of creators and commercial users.

This blogger is curious to see what the impact of CISAC's initiative might be in investing time, effort and money in opening this office.  Presumably the interests of its 227 members and, by implication, its members' members, are too precious (or possibly too amorphous) to allow them to be outsourced locally.  He also notes that there was no room in the media release for any mention of MCSC, the Music Copyright Society of China, which is the only Chinese member of CISAC.