Chinese singer Huang Xiaoyun's cover of Hua Chenyu's 'Dust in the Fireworks' has sparked a copyright dispute. The incident began on March 11 when Huang Xiaoyun's cover version was officially released online, and it was soon pointed out by netizens that a segment of it seemed to plagiarize another work of Hua Chenyu, 'Child'. On March 31, Huang Xiaoyun's studio issued a statement, claiming that the cover of 'Dust in the Fireworks' was authorized and did not constitute infringement. However, on April 2, Hua Chenyu's studio responded, stating that no consensus had been reached in the communication between the parties, and accused Huang Xiaoyun of bordering on music copyright infringement.
Regarding this copyright dispute, legal experts pointed out that the legality of cover works depends on adherence to the scope of authorization. Although obtaining authorization for the lyrics and music copyright is a basic prerequisite for covers, if the cover intentionally mimics the performance characteristics of the original singer, resulting in an overall effect highly similar to the original, it may be considered a borderline infringement of parts not authorized.
Hua Chenyu's studio has taken a firm stance this time, resisting 'tailor-style creation' and calling on the industry to eliminate fragmented collaging behaviors.