On April 23, the Research Base of Online Copyright Industry under National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) released the Report of China on Development of Online Copyright Industry (2018). According to the Report, China’s market of online copyright industry reached 636.5 billion yuan in 2017, an increase of 27.2% as compared to that in 2016. Among others, the user payment in the online copyright industry was up to 318.4 billion yuan, taking up more than 50% of the total.
Based on the definition of WIPO about copyright industry, the Report defines the core online copyright industry as an industry based on the copyright protection,dependent on online technology and application and engaged in creation, production, performance, dissemination, exhibition, distribution and sales of content-based products.
The user base and market also continue to grow in the subsections of online copyright industry. In 2017, the market of paid users for online videos in China reached 21.8 billion yuan in 2017, almost doubled year on year. It is expected to keep an increase of over 60% in the next two years. Driven by growing willingness of users to pay and the liquidation through IP reprogramming, China’s digital reading market has exceeded 10 billion yuan, up by 31.1% year on year. It is expected to maintain a CGAR of close to 30% in the next few years.
According to the analysis of the Report, China’s online copyright industry is experiencing converged development in different fields. On the technical side, the idea of “content + social media + AI big data” gives rise to the emergence of new content ecosystem featuring information flow, music-oriented social media and WeChat applets. On the industrial side, film, publication, music and cartoon will further integrate with Internet in an in-depth manner to nurture a more prosperous market of originality.