数字音乐版权独家授权的竞争法规制问题——以纵向协议为规制路径

Competition Law Analysis of Exclusive Licensing in Digital Music Copyright—Focusing on Vertical Agreements

摘要: 数字音乐版权独家授权作为数字音乐产业中普遍采用的版权许可模式，在强化版权保护、激励内容创作的同时，也可能因版权资源的排他性配置引发市场封锁、提高进入壁垒并限制市场竞争，其竞争法评价一直存在较大争议。文章以数字音乐平台与版权方之间的独家授权行为为研究对象，采用规范分析与市场结构分析相结合的方法，围绕其法律性质、规制路径及违法性认定展开研究。研究认为，数字音乐版权独家授权属于纵向非价格协议，不宜当然适用“本身违法”规则，而应纳入合理原则框架进行个案分析，并围绕市场力量、竞争效果构建竞争法评价体系。在此基础上，对符合效率增进且能够使消费者分享相关利益的独家授权行为，可以适用《反垄断法》豁免制度，以实现知识产权保护、创新激励与市场竞争维护之间的动态平衡。

Abstract: Exclusive licensing of digital music copyrights, as a widely adopted licensing model in the digital music industry, plays an important role in strengthening copyright protection and incentivizing content creation. At the same time, however, the exclusive allocation of copyright resources may give rise to market foreclosure, higher barriers to entry, and restrictions on market competition, making its assessment under competition law highly controversial. This paper examines exclusive licensing arrangements between digital music platforms and copyright holders through a combination of normative analysis and market structure analysis, focusing on their legal characterization, regulatory approach, and assessment of legality under antitrust law. The paper argues that exclusive licensing of digital music copyrights constitutes a vertical non-price agreement and therefore should not be presumed unlawful per se. Instead, it should be evaluated under the rule of reason through a case-by-case analysis. To this end, the paper proposes a three-stage analytical framework centered on market power, competitive effects, and efficiency gains for assessing the anticompetitive effects of such arrangements. Furthermore, where exclusive licensing demonstrably enhances efficiency, promotes innovation, and enables consumers to share the resulting benefits without substantially restricting competition, it may qualify for exemption under the Anti-Monopoly Law. Such an approach facilitates a dynamic balance among copyright protection, innovation incentives, and the preservation of effective market competition.