The controversy over the copyright to a popular song recently hit the headlines in the local media and drawn attention to the rights of songwriters.

On the celebrity reality show I Am A Singer broadcast by Hunan Satellite TV in January, the singer duo Chen Yufan and Hu Haiquan moved many of the audience to tears with their performance of Mum in the Candlelight.

Yet changes they made in the song resulted in lyricist Li Chunli sending a lawyer's letter to Hunan TV and the duo asking for a public apology and 200,000 yuan ($32,659) for use of the song.