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(Adopted at the Fifteenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on September 7, 1990 and amended in accordance with the “Decisions on Amending the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China” made at the Twenty-fourth Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on October 27, 2001)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Copyright
Section 1 Copyright Owners and Their Rights
Section 2 Ownership of Copyright
Section 3 Term of Protection
Section 4 Limitations on Rights
Chapter III Contracts of Copyright Licensing and Contracts of Copyright Transfer
Chapter IV Publication, Performance, Sound Recording, Video Recording and Broadcasting
Section 1 Publication of Books, Newspapers and Periodicals
Section 2 Performance
Section 3 Sound Recording and Video Recording
Section 4 Broadcasting by A Radio Station or Television Station
Chapter V Legal Liabilities and Law Enforcement Measures
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted, in accordance with the Constitution for the purposes of
protecting the copyright of authors in their literary, artistic and scientific
works and rights related to copyright, of encouraging the creation and
dissemination of works which would contribute to the construction of socialist
spiritual and material civilization, and of promoting the development and
flourishing of socialist culture and sciences.
Article 2 Works of Chinese citizens, legal entities or other organizations, whether
published or not, shall enjoy copyright in accordance with this Law.
Any work of a foreigner or stateless person which enjoys copyright under an agreement
concluded between the country to which the author belongs or in which the author permanently
resides and China, or under an international treaty to which both countries are parties,
shall be protected by this Law.
Any work of a foreigner or stateless person published for the first time and within the
territory of China shall enjoy copyright in accordance with this Law.
Any work of an author from a country not having concluded an agreement with China or
entered into an international treaty jointly with China or of a stateless person, which is
published for the first time in a country as a member of the international treaty into which
China has entered or published in a member country and non- member country at the same time,
shall be protected by this Law.
Article 3 "Works" mentioned in this Law shall include works of literature, art, natural
science, social science, engineering technology and the like made in the
following forms:
(1) written works;
(2) oral works;
(3) musical, dramatic, quyi, choreographic and acrobatic art works;
(4) works of fine art and architecture
(5) photographic works;
(6) cinematographic works and works created in a way similar to cinematography
(7) drawings of engineering designs and product designs, maps, sketches and other
graphic works as well as model works;
(8) computer software;
(9) other works as provided in laws and administrative regulations.
Article 4 Works the publication or dissemination of which is prohibited by law shall not
be protected by this law.
Copyright owners, in exercising their copyright, shall not violate the
Constitution or laws or infringe upon the public interests.
Article 5 This Law shall not be applicable to:
(1) laws, regulations, resolutions, decisions and orders of state organs; other
documents of legislative, administrative or judicial nature; and their official
translations;
(2) news on current affairs;
(3) calendars, numerical tables, forms of general use and formulas.
Article 6 Regulations for the protection of copyright in expressions of folklore shall be
separately established by the State Council.
Article 7 The copyright administration department under the State Council shall be
responsible for the nationwide administration of copyright. The copyright
administration department of the people’s government of each province,
autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall be
responsible for the administration of copyright within its own jurisdiction.
Article 8 Copyright owners and the obligees related to copyright may authorize a collective
management organization of copyright to exercise the copyright or the rights
related to copyright. The collective management organization of copyright may,
after being authorized, claim rights in its own name for the copyright owners and
the obligees related to copyright, and may, as a party concerned, participate in
the litigation and arbitration activities involved with copyright or the rights
related to copyright.
A collective management organization of copyright shall be a non-profit organization, and
the method of its establishment, its rights and obligations, the collection and distribution
of the royalty for copyright licensing, as well as the supervision and management over it
shall be separately provided by the State Council.
Chapter II Copyright
Section 1 Copyright Owners and Their Rights
Article 9 "Copyright owners shall include:
(1) authors;
(2) other citizens, legal entities and organizations enjoying copyright in accordance
with this Law.
Article 10 "Copyright" shall include the following personal rights and property rights:
(1) the right of publication, that is, the right to decide whether to male a work
available to the public;
(2) the right of authorship, that is, the right to claim authorship and to have the
author’s name mentioned in connection with the work;
(3) the right of alteration, that is, the right to alter or authorize others to alter
one’s work;
(4) the right of integrity, that is, the right to protect one’s work against
distortion and mutilation;
(5) the right of reproduction, that is, the right to produce one or more copies of
the work by means of printing, Xeroxing, rubbing, sound recording, video
recording, duplicating, or re-shooting, etc.;
(6) the right of distribution, that is, the right to provide the public with original
copies or reproduced copies of works by means of selling or donating;
(7) the right of lease, that is, the right to nongratuitously permit others to
temporarily exploit a cinematographic work, a work created in a way similar to
cinematography or computer software, unless the computer software is not the main
object under the lease;
(8) the right of exhibition, that is, the right to publicly display the original
copies or reproduced copies of works of fine art and cinematographic works;
(9) the right of performance, that is, the right to publicly perform works, and to
publicly transmit the performance of works by various means;
(10) the right of projection, that is, the right to make, by such technical equipment
as projector, episcope, etc., the works of fine art, photographic works,
cinematographic works and works created in a way similar to cinematography, etc.
reappear publicly;
(11) the right of broadcasting, that is, the right to publicly broadcast or
disseminate works by wireless means, to disseminate broadcast works to the public
by wired dissemination or rebroadcast, and to disseminate broadcast works to the
public by audio amplifier or other similar instruments for transmission of signs,
sounds or images;
(12) the right of information network dissemination, that is, the right to provide the
public with works by wired or wireless means, so as to make the public able to
respectively obtain the works at the individually selected time and place;
(13) the right of production, that is, the right to fix works on the carrier by
cinematography or in a way similar to cinematography;
(14) the right of adaptation, that is, the right to modify a work for the purpose
of creating a new work of original creation;
(15) the right of translation, that is, the right to transform the language of a work
into another language;
(16) the right of compilation, that is, the right to choose or edit some works or
fragments of works so as to form a new work;
(17) other rights which shall be enjoyed by the copyright owners.
A copyright owner may permit others to exercise the rights provided in Items (5) through
(17) of the preceding paragraph, and may receive remuneration as agreed upon in the
contract or in accordance with the relevant provisions in this Law.
A copyright owner may wholly or partially transfer the rights provided in Items (5)
through (17) of Paragraph 1 of this Article, and may receive remuneration as agreed upon
in the contract or in accordance with the relevant provisions in this Law.
Section 2 Ownership of Copyright
Article 11 Except otherwise provided in this Law, the copyright in a work shall belong
to its author.
The author of a work is the citizen who has created the work.
Where a work is created according to the intention and under the supervision
and responsibility of a legal entity or another organization, such legal
entity or organization shall be the author of the work.
The citizen, legal entity or organization whose name is affixed to a work
shall, without the contrary proof, be the author of the work.
Article 12 Where a work is created by adaptation, translation, annotation or arrangement
of a pre-existing work, the copyright in the work thus created shall be
enjoyed by the adapter, translator, annotator or arranger, provided that the
copyright in the original work is not infringed upon.
Article 13 Where a work is created jointly by two or more co-authors, the copyright in
the work shall be enjoyed jointly by those co-authors. Co-authorship may not
be claimed by anyone who has not participated in the creation of the work.
If a work of joint authorship can be separated into independent parts and
exploited separately, each co-author shall be entitled to independent
copyright in the parts that he has created, provided that the exercise of
such copyright does not infringe upon the copyright in the joint work as a
whole.
Article 14 A work created by compilation shall refer to the work which is compiled of
some works, fragments of works or the data or other materials not
constituting a work, and the choice or layout of the contents of which
embodies the original creation. The copyright of the compilation work shall
be enjoyed by the compiler, provided that the exercise of such copyright does
not infringe upon the copyright of the pre-existing works included in the
compilation.
Article 15 The copyright of a cinematographic work or a work created in a way similar to
cinematography shall be enjoyed by the producer, while any of the playwright,
director, cameraman, words-writer, composer and other authors of the work
shall enjoy the right of authorship, and shall be entitled to obtain
remuneration as agreed upon in the contract between him and the producer.
The authors of the screenplay, musical works and other works that are
included in a cinematographic work or a work created in a way similar to
cinematography and can be exploited separately shall be entitled to exercise
their copyright independently.
Article 16 A work created by a citizen when fulfilling the tasks assigned to him by a
legal entity or another organization shall be deemed to be a service work.
Unless otherwise provided in Paragraph 2 of this Article, the copyright of
such a work shall be enjoyed by the author, but the legal entity or
organization shall have a priority right to exploit the work within the scope
of its professional activities. During the two years after the completion of
the work, the author shall not, without the consent of the legal entity or
organization, authorize a third party to exploit the work in the same way as
the legal entity or organization does.
In the following cases the author of a service work shall enjoy the right of
authorship, while the legal entity or organization shall enjoy other rights
included in the copyright and may reward the author:
(1) drawings of engineering designs and product designs, maps, computer software
and other service works, which are created mainly with the materials and
technical resources of the legal entity or organization and under its
responsibility;
(2) service works of which the copyright is, in accordance with the laws or
administrative regulations or as agreed upon in the contract, enjoyed by the
legal entity or organization.
Article 17 The ownership of copyright in a commissioned work shall be agreed upon in a
contract between the commissioning and the commissioned parties. In the
absence of such a contract or of an explicit agreement in the contract, the
copyright in such a work shall belong to the commissioned party.
Article 18 The transfer of ownership of the original copy of a work of fine art or
another work shall not be deemed to include the transfer of the copyright in
such a work, however, the right to exhibit the original copy of a work of
fine art shall be enjoyed by the owner of such original copy.
Article 19 Where the copyright of a work belongs to a citizen, his rights in respect of
the work as provided in Items (5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of Article 10
of this Law shall, after his death, during the term of protection provided in
this Law, be transferred in accordance with the Inheritance Law.
Where the copyright of a work belongs to a legal entity or another organization, its
rights in respect of the work as provided in Items (5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of Article
10 of this Law shall, after the change or the termination of the status of the legal entity
or organization, during the term of protection provided in this Law, be enjoyed by the
succeeding legal entity or organization which has taken over the rights and obligations of
the previous legal entity or organization, or, in the absence of such succeeding legal entity
or organization, by the State.
Section 3 Term of Protection
Article 20 The rights of authorship, alteration and integrity of an author shall be
unlimited in time.
Article 21 In respect of a work of a citizen, the term of protection of the right of
publication and of the rights provided in Items (5) through (17) of Paragraph 1
of Article 10 of this Law shall be the lifetime of the author and fifty years
after his death, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after his death.
In the case of a work of joint authorship, such term shall expire on December
31 of the fiftieth year after the death of the last surviving author.
The term of protection of the right of publication and of the rights provided in Items
(5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of Article 10 of this Law where the copyright belongs to a
legal entity or another organization, or in respect of a service work where the legal entity
or organization enjoys the copyright (except the right of authorship), shall be fifty years,
expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first publication of such a work,
however, any such work that has not been published within fifty years after the completion of
its creation shall no longer be protected by this Law.
The term of protection of the right of publication and of the rights provided in Items
(5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of Article 10 of this Law in respect of a cinematographic
work or a work created in a way similar to cinematography shall be fifty years, expiring on
December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first publication of such a work, however, any
such work that has not been published within fifty years after the completion of its creation
shall no longer be protected by this Law.
Section 4 Limitations on Rights
Article 22 In the following cases, a work may be exploited without the permission from,
and without payment of remuneration to, the copyright owner, provided that the
name of the author and the title of the work are mentioned and the other rights
enjoyed by the copyright owner by virtue of this Law are not infringed upon:
(1) use of a published work for the purposes of the user’s own private study,
research or self-entertainment;
(2) appropriate quotation from a published work in one’s own work for the purposes
of introduction of, or comment on, a work, or demonstration of a point;
(3) inevitable reappearance or citation of a published work in newspapers,
periodicals, radio stations, television stations or other media for the
purpose of reporting current events;
(4) reprinting by newspapers or periodicals or other media, or rebroadcasting by
radio stations or television stations or other media, of the current event
articles on the issues of politics, economy and religion, which have been
published by other newspapers, periodicals, radio stations or television
stations or other media, except where the author has declared that
publication or broadcasting is not permitted;
(5) publication in newspapers or periodicals or other media, or broadcasting by
radio stations or television stations or other media, of a speech delivered at
a public assembly, except where the author has declared that publication or
broadcasting is not permitted;
(6) translation or reproduction, in a small quality of copies, of a published work
for use by teachers or scientific researchers in classroom teaching or
scientific research, provided that the translation or reproduction is not
published or distributed;
(7) use of a published work by a State organ within the reasonable scope for the
purpose of fulfilling its official duties;
(8) reproduction of a work in its collections by a library, archive, memorial hall,
museum, art gallery or similar institution, for the purpose of the display or
preservation of a copy of the work;
(9) free of charge performance of a published work, that is, with respect to the
performance, neither fees are charged from the public nor the remuneration is
paid to the performers;
(10) copying, drawing, photographing, or video recording of an artistic work located
or on display in an outdoor public place;
(11) translation of a work published by a Chinese citizen, legal entity or
organization, which is created in the Han language (Chinese), into a minority
nationality language for publication and distribution within the country;
(12) translation of a published work into Braille and publication of the work so
translated;
The provisions in the preceding paragraph shall be applicable to the limitations on the
rights of publishers, performers, producers of sound recordings and video recordings, radio
stations and television stations.
Article 23 Anyone who compiles or publishes textbooks for the purpose of implementing the
nine-year compulsory education or State education planning may, without the
permission from the copyright owner, except that the author has declared in
advance that the exploitation is not permitted, compile published fragments of
works, short written works or musical works, a single work of fine art, or
photographic works into the textbooks, however, he shall pay the remuneration
as provided, mention the name of the author and the title of the work, and
shall not infringe upon other rights which the copyright owner shall enjoy in
accordance with this Law.
The provisions in the preceding paragraph shall be applicable to the limitations on the
rights of publishers, performers, producers of sound recordings and video recordings, radio
stations and television stations.
Chapter III Contracts of Copyright Licensing and Contracts of Copyright Transfer
Article 24 Anyone who exploits a work created by another shall conclude a contract of
licensing with the copyright owner, unless it is provided in this Law that the
exploitation need not be licensed.
A contract of licensing shall include the following main contents:
(1) the variety of the right to exploit the work covered by the license;
(2) the exclusive or non-exclusive nature of the right to exploit the work covered
by the license;
(3) the territorial scope and term of the license;
(4) the amount of the remuneration and the method of its payment;
(5) the breach liability;
(6) any other contents that both parties consider necessary.
Article 25 Anyone who transfers any of the rights provided in Items (5) through (17) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 10 of this Law shall conclude a written contract with the
transferee.
A contract of copyright transfer shall include the following main contents:
(1) the name of the work;
(2) the variety and territorial scope of the transferred right;
(3) the transfer price;
(4) the date and method of the delivery of the transfer price;
(5) the breach liability;
(6) any other contents that both parties consider necessary.
Article 26 The licensee or the transferee shall not, without the consent of the copyright
owner, exercise any right that the copyright owner has not expressly licensed or
transferred in the contract.
Article 27 The standards of remuneration for the exploitation of a work may be either
agreed upon by the parties concerned or be made by the copyright administration
department under the State Council in collaboration with other departments
concerned. Where the parties concerned fail to reach a clear agreement, the
remuneration shall be paid in accordance with the standards of remuneration made
by the copyright administration department under the State Council in
collaboration with other departments concerned.
Article 28 Publishers, performers, producers of sound recordings and video recordings,
radio stations, television stations and other entities who or which exploit the
works of others pursuant to this Law shall not infringe upon the author’s
rights of authorship, alteration or integrity, or their right to remuneration.
Chapter IV Publication, Performance, Sound Recording, Video Recording and Broadcasting
Section 1 Publication of Books, Newspapers and Periodicals
Article 29 A book publisher who publishes a book shall conclude a publishing contract with,
and pay remuneration to, the copyright owner.
Article 30 With respect to a work delivered to a book publisher by the copyright owner for
publication, the exclusive right to publish the work enjoyed by the book
publisher as agreed upon in the contract shall be protected by law, and the work
may not be published by others.
Article 31 The copyright owner shall deliver the work within the term agreed upon in the
contract. The book publisher shall publish the work in accordance with the
quality requirements and within the term agreed upon in the contract.
The book publisher shall bear the civil liability provided in Article 53 of this Law if he
fails to publish the work within the term agreed upon in the contract.
The book publisher shall notify, and pay remuneration to, the copyright owner when the
work is to be reprinted or republished. If the publisher refuses to reprint or republish the
work when stocks of the book are exhausted, the copyright owner shall have the right to
terminate the contract.
Article 32 Where a copyright owner has submitted the manuscript of his work to a newspaper
or a periodical publisher for publication and has not received any notification
of the said publisher’s decision to publish the work, within fifteen days from
the newspaper publisher or within thirty days from the periodical publisher,
counted from the date of submission of the manuscript, the copyright owner may
submit the manuscript of the same work to another newspaper or periodical
publisher for publication, unless the two parties have agreed otherwise.
Except where the copyright owner has declared that reprinting or excerpting is not
permitted, other newspaper or periodical publishers may, after the publication of the work by
a newspaper or periodical, reprint the work or print an abstract of it or print it as
reference material, but such other publishers shall pay remuneration to the copyright owner as
provided in regulations.
Article 33 A book publisher may alter or abridge a work with the permission from the
copyright owner.
A newspaper or periodical publisher may make editorial modifications and abridgments in a
work, but shall not make modifications in the content of the work unless permission has been
obtained from the author.
Article 34 When publishing works created by adaptation, translation, annotation,
arrangement or compilation of pre-existing works, the publisher shall obtain
permission from and pay remuneration to both the owners of the copyright in the
works created by means of adaptation, translation, annotation, arrangement or
compilation, and the owners of the copyright in the original work.
Article 35 A publisher shall be entitled to permit others to exploit the format design of a
published book or periodical of his or prohibit others from doing so.
The term of protection of the right provided in the preceding paragraph shall be ten
years, expiring on December 31 of the tenth year after the first publication of the book or
periodical that uses such a format.
Section 2 Performance
Article 36 A performer (an individual performer or a performing group) who for a
performance exploits a work created by another shall obtain permission from
and pay remuneration to the copyright owner. A performance organizer who
organizes a performance shall obtain permission from and pay remuneration to
the copyright owner.
A performer who for a performance exploits a work created by adaptation, translation,
annotation or arrangement of a pre-existing work shall obtain permission from and pay
remuneration to both the owner of the copyright in the work created by adaptation,
translation, annotation or arrangement and the owner of the copyright in the original work.
Article 37 A performer shall, in relation to his performance, enjoy the rights:
(1) to show his/her identity;
(2) to protect the character in his performance from distortion;
(3) to authorize others to make live broadcasts or to publicly transmit his live
performance, and to receive remuneration for it;
(4) to authorize others to make sound recordings and video recordings, and to
receive remuneration for it.
(5) to permit others to reproduce and distribute the sound recordings or video
recordings which record his performance, and to receive remuneration for it;
(6) to permit others to disseminate his performance to the public through
information network, and to receive remuneration for it.
Anyone who is permitted to exploit the works in the ways provided in Items (3) through (6)
of the preceding paragraph shall also obtain permission from and pay remuneration to the
copyright owner.
Article 38 The term of protection of the rights provided in Items (1) and (2) of Paragraph
1 of Article 37 of this Law shall not be limited.
The term of protection of the rights provided in Items (3) through (6) of Paragraph 1 of
Article 37 of this Law shall be fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year
after the performance is made.
Section 3 Sound Recording and Video Recording
Article 39 A producer of sound recordings or video recordings who, for the production of a
sound recording or video recording, exploits a work created by another, shall
obtain permission from and pay remuneration to the copyright owner.
A producer of sound recordings or video recordings who exploits a work created by
adaptation, translation, annotation or arrangement of a pre-existing work shall obtain
permission from and pay remuneration to both the owner of the copyright in the work created by
adaptation, translation, annotation or arrangement and the owner of copyright in the original
work.
A producer of a sound recording who, for the production of a sound recording, exploits a
musical work which has been lawfully recorded as a sound recording by another, does not need
to obtain permission from, but shall, as provided in regulations, pay remuneration to the
copyright owner; such work shall not be exploited where the copyright owner has declared that
such exploitation is not permitted.
Article 40 When producing a sound recording or video recording, the producer shall conclude
a contract with, and pay remuneration to, the performers.
Article 41 A producer of sound recordings or video recordings shall have the right to
permit others to reproduce, distribute, lease and disseminate to the public
through information network such sound recordings or video recordings and shall
have the right to receive remuneration for it. The term of protection of such
rights shall be fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after
the production of the recording is firstly completed.
A producer of sound recordings or video recordings who is permitted to reproduce,
distribute, lease or disseminate to the public through information network a sound recording
or video recording shall obtain permission from and also pay remuneration to both the
copyright owner and the performer.
Section 4 Broadcasting by A Radio Station or Television Station
Article 42 A radio station or television station that broadcasts an unpublished work
created by another shall obtain permission from and pay remuneration to the
copyright owner.
A radio station or television station that broadcasts a published work created by
another does not need to obtain permission from, but shall pay remuneration to the
copyright owner.
Article 43 A radio station or television station that broadcasts a published sound
recording does not need to obtain permission from, but shall pay remuneration to
the copyright owner, unless the parties concerned have agreed otherwise. The
specific measures shall be provided by the State Council.
Article 44 A radio station or television station is entitled to prohibit the following acts
which it has not permitted:
(1) rebroadcasting the radio or television which it has broadcasted;
(2) recording the radio or television which it has broadcasted in the audio or video
carrier and to reproduce the audio or video carrier.
The term of protection of the rights provided in the preceding paragraph shall
be fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first
broadcasting of the radio or television.
Article 45 A television station that broadcasts another’s cinematographic work, work
created in a way similar to cinematography or videographic work shall obtain
permission from and pay remuneration to the producer. A television station that
broadcasts another’s videographic work shall also obtain permission from and
pay remuneration to the copyright owner.
Chapter V Legal Liabilities and Law Enforcement Measures
Article 46 He who commits any of the following acts of infringement shall bear the civil
liability for such remedies as ceasing the infringing act, eliminating the
effects of the act, making a public apology or paying compensation for damages,
depending on the circumstances:
(1) publishing a work without the permission from the copyright owner;
(2) publishing a work of joint authorship as a work created solely by oneself,
without the permission from the other co-authors;
(3) having his name mentioned in connection with a work created by another, in order
to seek personal fame and gain, where he has not taken part in the creation of
the work;
(4) distorting a work created by another;
(5) plagiarizing the works of others;
(6) exploiting a work by means of exhibition, making cinematographic productions or
a means similar to making cinematographic productions, or by means of
adaptation, translation, annotation, etc. without the permission from the
copyright owner, unless otherwise provided in this Law;
(7) exploiting a work of another without paying the remuneration;
(8) without the permission from the copyright owner or obligee related to the
copyright of a cinematographic work or a work created in a way similar to
cinematography, computer software, sound recordings or video recordings, leasing
his work or sound recordings or video recordings, except where otherwise
provided in this Law;
(9) without the permission from a publisher, exploiting the format design of his
published book or periodical;
(10) without the permission from the performer, broadcasting or publicly transmitting
his live performance or recording his performance;
(11) committing other acts of infringement upon copyright and upon other rights
related to copyright.
Article 47 He who commits any of the following acts of infringement shall bear the civil
liability for such remedies as ceasing the infringements, eliminating the
effects of the act, making a public apology or paying compensation for damages,
depending on the circumstances; where he damages public interests at the same
time, the copyright administration department may order him to cease the act of
tort, may confiscate his illegal gains, confiscate and destroy the reproductions
of infringement, and impose a fine on him; if the case is serious, the copyright
administration department may also confiscate the materials, instruments and
equipment, etc. mainly used to make the reproductions of infringement; where his
act has constituted a crime, he shall be investigated for criminal liabilities
in accordance with the law:
(1) without the permission from the copyright owner, reproducing, distributing,
performing, projecting, broadcasting, compiling, disseminating to the public
through information network his works, except where otherwise provided in this
Law;
(2) publishing a book where the exclusive right of publication belongs to another;
(3) without the permission from a performer, reproducing, distributing the sound
recordings or video recordings of his performance, or disseminating his
performance to the public through information network, except where otherwise
provided in this Law;
(4) without the permission from a producer of sound recordings and video recordings,
reproducing, distributing, disseminating to the public through information
network the sound recordings or video recordings produced by him, except where
otherwise provided in this Law;
(5) without the permission, broadcasting or reproducing the radio or television,
except where otherwise provided in this Law;
(6) without the permission from the copyright owner or obligee related to the
copyright, intentionally avoiding or destroying the technical measures taken by
the obligee on his works, sound recordings or video recordings, etc. to protect
the copyright or the rights related to the copyright, except where otherwise
provided in laws or administrative regulations;
(7) without the permission from the copyright owner or obligee related to the
copyright, intentionally deleting or altering the electronic information on the
management of the rights on the works, sound recordings or video recordings,
except where otherwise provided in laws or administrative regulations;
(8) producing or selling a work where the signature of another is counterfeited.
Article 48 The infringer shall, when having infringed upon the copyright or the rights
related to copyright, make a compensation on the basis of the obligee’s actual
losses; where the actual losses are difficult to be calculated, the compensation
may be made on the basis of the infringer’s illegal gains. The amount of
compensation shall also include the reasonable expenses paid by the obligee for
stopping the act of tort.
Where the obligee’s actual losses or the infringer’s illegal gains cannot be
determined, the people’s court shall, on the basis of the seriousness of the
act of tort, adjudicate a compensation of 500,000 Yuan or less.
Article 49 Where a copyright owner or obligee related to copyright has evidence to prove
that another is committing or is going to commit an act infringing upon his
right, and that his lawful rights and interests will suffer the damage which is
difficult to be remedied if he does not stop it in time, he may, before bringing
a lawsuit, apply to the people’s court for an order to cease the relevant acts
or for property preservation.
The people’s court shall handle the application in the preceding paragraph in
accordance with Article 93 through Article 96 and Article 99 of the Civil
Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Article 50 For the purpose of stopping the acts of tort, a copyright owner or an obligee
related to copyright may, under circumstances that the evidence may be destroyed
or lost or difficult to obtain later on, apply to the people’s court for the
evidence to be preserved.
The people’s court must, after receiving the application, make an order
within 48 hours; if the preservation is granted by an order, its implementation
shall start immediately.
The people’s court may order the applicant to provide a surety; if the
applicant fails to do so, his application shall be rejected.
If the applicant fails to bring a lawsuit within 15 days after the people’s
court has adopted the preservation measures, the people’s court shall cancel
the property preservation.
Article 51 The people’s court may, when trying the cases of infringing upon copyright or
the rights related to copyright, confiscate the illegal gains, the reproductions
of infringement and the properties used for committing illegal acts.
Article 52 Where a publisher or producer of reproductions is unable to prove the lawful
authorization of his publication or production, or the distributor of the
reproductions or the lessor of the reproductions of a cinematographic work or a
work created in a way similar to cinematography, computer software, sound
recordings or video recordings is unable to prove the lawful sources of his
distribution or lease of the reproductions, he shall bear the legal liabilities.
Article 53 Where a party concerned does not implement his contractual obligations or his
implementation of the contractual obligations does not conform to the stipulated
requirements, he shall bear the civil liabilities in accordance with the General
Principles of the Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Contract Law
of the People’s Republic of China and other laws.
Article 54 A dispute over copyright may be settled by mediation or be submitted for
arbitration to a copyright arbitration institution under a written arbitration
agreement concluded between the parties concerned, or under the arbitration
clause in the copyright contract.
Any party may bring a lawsuit directly to the people’s court in the absence
of a written arbitration agreement or an arbitration clause in the copyright
contract.
Article 55 Any party who objects to an administrative penalty may bring a lawsuit to the
people’s court within three months as of the date when it received the written
decision on the penalty. If a party neither bring a lawsuit nor implements the
decision within the above time limit, the copyright administration department
concerned may apply to the people’s court for enforcement.
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Article 56 The term “author’s right” shall have the same meaning as “copyright” in
this Law.
Article 57 The term “publication” mentioned in Article 2 of this Law shall refer to
reproduction and distribution of works.
Article 58 Regulations for the protection of computer software and of the right of
information network dissemination shall be established separately by the State
Council.
Article 59 The rights of copyright owners, publishers, performers, producers of sound
recordings and video recordings, radio stations and television stations as
provided in this Law, of which the term of protection specified in this Law has
not yet expired on the date of this Law’s entry into force, shall be protected
in accordance with this Law.
Any infringements upon copyright and the rights related to copyright or
breaches of contract committed prior to the entry into force of this Law shall
be dealt with under the relevant regulations or policies in force at the time
when the infringement was committed.
Article 60 This Law shall enter into force on June 1, 1991. |
