China's copyright authorities on Thursday urged the collective management organizations of copyright to enhance their performance and transparency to better protect copyright holders.

The collective management system, in which the organizations collect fees from copyright users and then transfer it to the holders, has been recognized around the globe for its efficiency in the digital age, said Yan Xiaohong, vice-director of the National Copyright Administration.

"It needs the acknowledgement of both the users and holders. But in China, we haven't reached a consensus," he said. "The collective management organizations need to improve their management level, and be more professional and transparent to better serve their members."

Yan noted that the collective management of copyright was introduced to China only 20 years ago while it has a history of more than 200 years in developed countries.

The Music Copyright Society of China was first established in 1992. Another four collective management organizations were founded in the past six years.

"China is still pretty new in this field and faces a great many problems," Yan said at the International Seminar on the Collective Management of Copyright in the Digital Environment, held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

"We need to learn more from experienced countries and international organizations," he said at the seminar, co-organized by the China Written Works Copyright Society and the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations.