(Yicai Global) Feb. 1 -- A government-backed copyright association has demanded that video platform Kuaishou delete 10,000 videos due to copyright infringement. The call comes just ahead of Kuaishou’s initial public offering in the Hong Kong stock market, in which it is set to raise HKD42 billion (USD5.4 billion).

The China Audio-Video Copyright Association said it had found as many as 155 million videos on Kuaishou that infringed on copyright.

CAVCA racked up CNY238 million (USD36.9 million) in copyright usage charges last year. It was initially known to the public through issuing licenses to karaoke operators, but it has now turned its attention to China’s growing online video sector.

Kuaishou mentioned copyright risks in its IPO prospectus, saying it had penned deals with various music copyright owners and operators in China for the legal use of their music content on its platform.

Kuaishou sometimes faces charges of unauthorized use of music as many of the videos uploaded to the platform contain music, the prospectus said, and it could still face infringement charges despite the company’s internal control procedures for compliance with copyright laws.

Editor: Tom Litting