(Adopted
at the Fifteenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National
People's Congress on September 7, 1990 and amended for the first time in
accordance with the Decision of the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of
the Ninth National People's Congress Concerning Amendment to the Copyright Law
of the People's Republic of China on October 27, 2001; and amended for the
second time in accordance with the Decision of the 13th Session of the Standing
Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress Concerning Amendment to the
Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China on February 26, 2010)
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 Copyright
owners, in exercising their copyright, shall not violate the Constitution or
laws or infringe upon the public interests. The publication and dissemination
of works shall be subject to the administration and supervision of the State.
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 article s
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 In
case of pledge of copyright, the pledger and the pledgee shall go through
registration of the pledge with the copyright administration under the State
Council.
Article
27 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
28 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
29 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
30 A
book publisher who publishes a book shall conclude a publishing contract with,
and pay remuneration to, the copyright owner.
Article
31 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
32 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
33 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
34 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
35 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
36 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
37 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
38 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
39 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
40 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
41 When
producing a sound recording or video recording, the producer shall conclude a
contract with, and pay remuneration to, the performers.
Article
42 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
43 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
44 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
45 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
46 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
47 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
48 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
49 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
50 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
51 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
52 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
53 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
54 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
55 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
56 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
57 The
term "author's right" shall have the same meaning as
"copyright" in this Law.
Article
58 The
term "publication" mentioned in article 2 of this Law shall refer to
reproduction and distribution of works.
Article
59 Regulations
for the protection of computer software and of the right of information network
dissemination shall be established separately by the State Council.
Article
60 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
61 This
Law shall enter into force on June 1, 1991.