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The China Insurance Regulatory Commission
Decree of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission
No.5
The Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Brokering Companies are hereby issued for implementation as of January 1, 2002.
Chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission: Ma Yongwei
November 16, 2001
Provisions on the Administration of Insurance Brokering Companies
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1
The present Provisions have been formulated according to the Insurance Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred
to as the Insurance Law) and other relevant laws and regulations for the purpose of protecting the lawful rights and interests of
the applicants for insurance and the insured as well as maintaining the fair competition of the market order.
Article 2
The term “insurance brokering company” as mentioned in the present Provisions shall refer to the entities established according to
the relevant laws and regulations such as the Insurance Law and the present Provisions upon the approval of the China Insurance Regulatory
Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “CIRC”) to be engaged in the business of insurance brokering.
Article 3
The term “insurance brokering” as mentioned in the present Provisions shall include direct insurance brokering and reinsurance brokering.
The term “direct insurance brokering” refers to the act of brokering by which the insurance brokering company and the applicant enters
into a contract of mandate, and, for the sake of protecting the interests of the applicant and the insured, provide intermediary
services for the conclusion of an insurance contract between the applicant and the insurer and charges the agreed commissions for
the intermediary services.
The term “reinsurance brokering” refers to the brokering act by which the insurance brokering company and the original insurer enters
into a contract of mandate and, for the sake of protecting the interests of the original insurer, provide intermediary services for
the reinsurance business between the original insurer and the re-insurer, and charges the agreed commissions for the intermediary
services.
Article 4
The present Provisions shall be applicable to all the insurance brokering companies established upon the approval of the CIRC to engage
in the insurance brokering business within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.
Article 5
Any one who is engaged in the insurance brokering company shall be an insurance brokering company established pursuant to the present
Provisions. Unless having obtained the approval of the CIRC, no entity or individual may engage in the insurance brokering business
within the territory of the people’s republic of China.
Article 6
All insurance brokering companies shall abide by the laws, administrative regulations and the relevant provisions of the CIRC in their
insurance brokering activities and shall follow the principle of willingness, honesty and fair competition.
Article 7
If any loss is caused to the applicant, insured or other clients as the result of fault on the part of the insurance brokering company
in the process of handling insurance brokering business, the insurance brokering company shall undertake legal liabilities according
to law.
Article 8
The CIRC exercises supervision and administration over the insurance brokering companies according to law.
Chapter II Establishment
Article 9
An insurance brokering company may be established in the form of a limited liability company or a stock-limited company.
Article 10
Any one who applies for establishing an insurance brokering company shall meet the following requirements:
1.
having the shareholders or promoters that conform to the legal provisions;
2.
having the articles of incorporation that conform to the legal provisions;
3.
having an actually paid registered capital of not less than 10 million yuan;
4.
having the company post_title, organizations and dwelling place that conform to the legal provisions;
5.
no less than one half of the employees are brokers that hold a Certificate of Qualifications for Insurance Brokers (hereinafter referred
to as “CQIB”);
6.
having the senior management personnel that conform to the provisions concerning the qualifications as provided by the CIRC;
7.
other conditions as required by laws or administrative regulations.
Article 11
The legal name of an insurance brokering company shall include the words “insurance brokering”.
Article 12
Any entity or individual that, according to the provisions of laws, administrative regulations or the provisions of the CIRC, may
not invest in the insurance brokering business may not be a shareholder or promoter of the insurance brokering company.
Article 13
The qualifications for being a staff member of the senior management personnel of an insurance brokering company shall be subject
to the inspections of the CIRC.
The term “senior management of an insurance brokering company” as mentioned in the present Provisions shall include the chairman of
the board of directors, the general manager and the vice general managers.
The contents and methods for inspecting the qualifications of the senior management personnel of an insurance brokering company shall
include the inspection of the application materials, interviews, examinations, etc. Minutes shall be taken for interviews and shall
be signed by both the interviewer and interviewee. The application materials, minutes of interviews and examinations results shall
be an important basis for inspecting the qualifications of the people inspected, and shall be put into the archive files of the people
inspected together with the opinions of inspection made by the CIRC concerning the qualifications of the people inspected.
Article 14
A member of the senior management personnel of an insurance brokering company shall, apart from holding a CQIB, meet either one of
the following conditions:
1.
having an undergraduate education background or above of majoring in economics, finance, insurance or law, and shall have an experience
of not less than 3 years of engaging in the insurance brokering other relevant businesses;
2.
having an undergraduate education background or above of whose major is not economics, finance, insurance or law, and shall have an
experience of no less than 5 years of engaging in the insurance brokering or other relevant businesses.
The requirement in education background of any one who have worked in the insurance brokering or other relevant businesses for more
than 10 years may be appropriately relaxed.
Article 15
The establishment of an insurance brokering company is divided into two phases: preparations for establishment and starting business.
Article 16
An applicant for establishing an insurance brokering company shall submit the following materials to the CIRC:
1.
an application for preparations for establishment;
2.
a feasibility study of preparations of establishment, including an analysis of the market situation, ideas for development of the
company, business plan for the future 3 years and predictions of revenue and profits, etc.
3.
the framework of the company, including the registered capital, structure of shares or proportion of shares, the organizations of
the company, etc.;
4.
the plans of preparations for establishment;
5.
the names and photocopies of the ID cards of the people involved in the preparations for establishment;
6.
a resume of the person-in-charge and a statement of having no record of criminal offence or other bad records that is signed by the
said person-in-charge;
7.
other materials as required by laws or administrative regulations.
Article 17
The person in charge of preparing for the establishment of an insurance brokering company shall meet the following conditions:
1.
having a background of college education or above;
2.
having experiences of working in the insurance brokering or other relevant businesses;
3.
having no record of criminal offence or other bad records.
Article 18
The CIRC shall, within 30 days after receiving the eligible materials of preparing for establishment, inform the applicant in written
form whether to accept the application or not. If the application is rejected, the reasons shall be specified; if it is to be accepted,
an examination shall be made according to the present Provisions, and the CIRC shall make a decision within 6 months after the application
materials are received on whether to approve the preparations for establishment and inform the applicant in written form of the decision.
If the application for preparing for establishment is not approved, the reasons shall be specified.
Article 19
If the application for preparing for establishing an insurance brokering company, a preparation group shall be formed, and the preparations
shall be completed within 6 months after the approval is granted. In case the preparations fail to be completed when the time limit
expires or the preparations fail to meet the requirement for starting business, the original approval documents shall be invalidated
automatically.
An insurance brokering company under preparations may not engage in any insurance brokering business.
Article 20
After having completed the preparations for establishment, the applicant may apply to the CIRC for starting business by submitting
the following materials:
1.
an application for starting business;
2.
the articles of incorporation;
3.
the rules for internal management, including the rules concerning the organizational framework, procedures for decision-making, business
operations, financial affairs and personnel, etc.;
4.
the materials of the senior management personnel submitted for inspection;
5.
a name roll of the employees, the photocopies of the CQIBs and ID cards of the employees;
6.
the names of the shareholders, photocopies of the business licenses of the legal-person shareholders, financial statements of the
legal-person shareholders for the recent 3 years that have been affixed with the financial cachet of the said shareholders, and photocopies
of the ID cards of the natural-person shareholders;
7.
an asset appraisal report issued by a certified accountants firm, photocopies of the original vouchers for the entering an item of
an account of the registered capital;
8.
facilities in computer softwares and hardwares;
9.
certificates of the use right or ownership of business sites;
10.
a Notice of Advance Approval of Enterprise post_titles as issued by the competent administration for industry and commerce;
11.
other materials as required by the CIRC.
Article 21
The CIRC shall, within 30 days after receiving the eligible materials of application for starting business, carry out relevant checks,
and shall decide, within 3 months, whether to approve the application or not and inform the applicant of the decision. If the application
is not approved, the reasons shall be specified.
Article 22
The application materials for establishing an insurance brokering company shall be prepared according to the formats as required by
the CIRC.
Article 23
An insurance brokering company which is approved to start business shall apply for a Business License for Engaging in the Insurance
Brokering Business (hereinafter referred to as “business license”) according to relevant provisions.
The insurance brokering companies shall observe the rules for the administration of licenses formulated by the CIRC. Once a business
license is issued or changed, a public announcement shall be made in the newspapers designated by the CIRC.
Article 24
Where an insurance brokering company fail to start business without good reasons 6 months after establishment or it suspends business
after starting business for 6 consecutive months, the CIRC may cancel the business license thereof.
Article 25
The business license shall be valid for 3 years, and the insurance brokering company shall, 60 days prior to the expiration of the
validity period, apply to the CIRC for changing the business license. If the applicant company seriously violates the provisions
of any law or administration, the CIRC may refuse to change the business license. If the company fails to have its business license
changed by the CIRC, it may not continue to engage in the insurance brokering business.
Chapter III Alteration and Termination
Article 26
The following matters of an insurance brokering company shall be subject to the approval of the CIRC:
1.
amending the articles of incorporation;
2.
altering the registered capital;
3.
changing shareholders;
4.
changing the organizational forms;
5.
changing the structure of shares;
6.
changing the dwelling place;
7.
changing any of the senior administrative personnel;
8.
changing the scope business;
9.
changing the name of the company;
10.
being split or merged;
11.
being dissolved or bankrupt;
12.
other matters that the laws or administrative regulations require to be submitted for approval.
Article 27
In case any insurance brokering company is lawfully dissolved or canceled or bankrupt, it shall hand back the business license thereof
to the CIRC and shall make public announcements on the newspapers designated by the CIRC.
Chapter IV Qualifications for Engaging in the Business
Article 28
Any person of an insurance brokering company to engage in the insurance brokering business shall passed the qualifications examinations
organized by the CIRC.
Any person with the junior college background shall be allowed to take part in the examinations.
Article 29
Any one who passes the qualifications examinations for the insurance brokering business may apply to the CIRC for a Qualifications
Certificate. Any applicant for the Qualifications Certificate shall submit the following documents:
1.
certification document proving that the person engaged in the insurance brokering business has passed the qualifications examinations;
2.
the ID card or passport (in photocopy);
3.
certification materials concerning past acts issued by the entity where the person concerned works or the governments organ on the
level of subdistrict office or above where the permanent resident of the person belongs;
4.
two recent two-inch photos of the hatless face.
Article 30
Any one who applies for a Qualifications Certificate shall satisfy the following conditions:
1.
being 18 years old or older and having full civil capacities;
2.
having good morals, being upright and honest, and having good professional ethnics;
3.
having no record of criminal punishment or serious administrative punishment within the 5 years prior to the application.
Article 31
The CIRC may directly grant a Qualifications Certificate to any one who satisfies the qualifications as provided by the CIRC for engaging
in the insurance brokering business, and the specific measures for this purpose shall be separately formulated.
Article 32
The Qualifications Certificate shall be uniformly printed by the CIRC, and may not be counterfeited, changed, lent, leased or transferred.
Article 33
The Qualifications Certificate shall be the acknowledgement of the basic qualifications of those engaged in the insurance brokering
business by the CIRC, it is not valid for proving the qualification for practice.
Article 34
The insurance brokering companies shall have requirements for the qualifications to practices of the employees engaged in the insurance
brokering business according to the provisions of the CIRC.
Article 35
The Certificate to Practice in the Insurance Brokering Business (hereinafter referred to as “Certificate to Practice”) is the certification
document for employees to engage in the insurance brokering business.
Article 36
The Certificate to Practice shall be uniformly printed by the CIRC and issued by the insurance brokering companies. No insurance brokering
company may issue a Certificate to Practice to any employee who has not obtained a Qualifications Certificate.
Article 37
When doing insurance brokering business, the employees of an insurance brokering company shall actively show their own Certificates
to Practice.
Article 38
No insurance brokering company may issue a Certificate to Practice to any one who is punished for violating any of the laws, administrative
regulations or rules and is prohibited from entering the insurance brokering business but has obtained a Qualifications Certificate;
if any Certificate to Practice is issued, it shall be taken back by the insurance brokering company.
Article 39
If any employee who has a Certificate to Practice stops from doing the insurance brokering business or is reemployed by any other
insurance brokering company, he shall hand back the Certificate to Practice to the insurance brokering company.
Chapter V Administration of Business Operations
Article 40
The scope of business operations of the insurance brokering companies shall be subject to the examination and approval of the CIRC.
All insurance brokering companies shall conduct their business operations within their ratified scopes of business operations.
Article 41
An insurance brokering company may, upon the approval of the CIRC, engage in the following business operations:
1.
making proposals of insurance for the applicant, selecting the insurer and handling the formalities insurance;
2.
assisting the insured or the beneficiary to claim for compensations;
3.
the business of reinsurance brokering;
4.
providing consultative services to clients in terms of avoiding disasters, losses or risk appraisal, risk management, etc.;
5.
other businesses as ratified by the CIRC.
Article 42
The businesses that an insurance brokering company is engaged in shall be in conformity with the business scope and geographic area
of the accepting insurance company; if such business as coinsurance, cross-regional insurance or all-inclusive policy, etc. is involved,
the relevant provisions of the CIRC shall be applied.
Article 43
The personnel residing in any place other than the place of company registration to engage in the insurance brokering businesses,
the insurance brokering company shall make registrations according to relevant provisions.
Article 44
An insurance brokering company may not engage in any of the following activities:
1.
having insurance brokering connections with any organization or individual that illegally engages in the insurance business or insurance
intermediary services;
2.
doing business beyond the scope of business as ratified by the CIRC;
3.
going beyond the scope of authorization and injuring the lawful rights and interests of the clients;
4.
counterfeiting, disseminating false information or injuring the reputation of other business operators in the same trade by other
means.
5.
embezzling or usurping the premiums or insurance money or insurance compensations;
6.
making untruthful publicity to the clients so as to misleading them into applying for insurance;
7.
concealing any important information that is related to the contract of insurance or failing to truthfully inform the clients of the
assertions of insurance or cheating the applicant, insured or beneficiary;
8.
coercing, inducing or limiting the conclusion of insurance contracts by taking advantage of administrative power, post or position
or by other unfair means;
9.
colluding with the applicant, insured or the beneficiary for the purpose of cheating the insurance company;
10.
any other act that is deemed by law or administrative regulation as injuring the interest of the applicant, insured or the insurance
company.
Article 45
When doing business, an insurance brokering company shall explicitly inform the clients of the post_title, address, business scope, legal
liabilities, etc. of the insurance brokering company, and telling the clients of the commissions to be charged by the insurance brokering
company according to the demands of the clients.
Article 46
An insurance brokering company shall enter into written contracts of mandate with the clients.
Article 47
An insurance brokering company shall open independent accounts for the special use of the funds of the clients.
Article 48
An insurance brokering company shall make detailed records of its brokering businesses, recording the name or post_title of the clients,
the type of insurance brokered, all kinds of insurance money or compensations drawn on other’s behalf, premiums paid on other’s behalf,
the time of fee collection, the time of releasing payment, the amount of commission and the time for paying the commission, etc.
Article 49
An insurance brokering company shall release the payment of insurance premiums due at the agreed time.
Article 50
The insurance brokering company shall charge commissions for the brokering business according to the agreement of both parties.
Article 51
The insurance brokering company shall keep the business secrets that it learns in the process of business operations as confidential.
Article 52
The term for keeping the various materials of business operations by the insurance brokering companies shall be no shorter than 10
years starting from the day when the insurance contract expires.
Article 53
An insurance brokering company shall deposit a caution money for business operations at the rate of 15% of the registered capital
or by trade liability insurances according to the provisions of the CIRC.
The insurance brokering company shall, within 30 days after starting business, deposit the caution money for business operations in
full amount to the commercial bank designated by the CIRC. An insurance brokering company may, upon approval, pay the caution money
for business operations by the securities as approved by the CIRC.
No insurance brokering company may use the caution money paid thereby unless approval of the CIRC is obtained.
Chapter VI Supervision and Inspection
Article 54
The insurance brokering companies shall submit the relevant statements and materials to the CIRC in a timely way according to relevant
provisions. The various statements and materials submitted shall be affixed with the signature of the legal representative of the
company of the person authorized thereby and with the official cachet of the company.
Article 55
The various statements and materials submitted by the insurance brokering companies shall be true-to-the-fact, precise and complete.
Article 56
All insurance brokering companies shall, within 60 days after each accounting year expires, submit an auditing report issued by a
certified accountants firm together with the specifications of other relevant matters to the CIRC.
The certified accountants firm as mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall satisfy the following conditions:
1.
It has been established for no less than 3 years and has no bad records;
2.
It has sound internal organizations and rules of management;
3.
It has 10 certified accounts or more.
Article 57
The CIRC supervises and inspects the business activities of the insurance brokering companies according to law, and the insurance
brokering companies shall give coordination and provide relevant materials as demanded.
Article 58
The matters of the insurance brokering companies subject to the inspection of the CIRC shall include:
1.
the application and approval documents for establishment or alteration;
2.
the registered capital;
3.
the caution money for business operations and the insurance for liabilities of the trade;
4.
business management;
5.
financial status;
6.
the information system;
7.
management and internal control;
8.
the qualifications for the senior management personnel;
9.
other matters which the CIRC thinks to be necessary for inspection.
Chapter VII Provisions of Punishment
Article 59
Any one who violates the present Provisions by illegally establishing an insurance brokering company shall be canceled and be fined
not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan; if illegal proceeds have been incurred, such proceeds shall be confiscated.
Article 60
In case any applicant who obtains the approval of the CIRC for preparing for establishment or for starting business by submitting
false materials or by other fraudulent means, the qualifications for preparing establishment or the business license thereof shall
be canceled, and the offender shall be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan.
Article 61
Any insurance brokering company that is merged, split, dissolved or bankrupt without the approval of the CIRC shall be given a warning
and shall be fined not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 300,000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, the scope of business
of the company shall be restricted or the company shall be ordered to suspend business or the business license of the company shall
be revoked.
Article 62
Any insurance brokering company that changes its name or articles of incorporation or registered capital or structure of capital or
shareholders shall be given a warning and be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 10,000 yuan.
Article 63
Any insurance brokering company that commits any of the following activities shall be given a warning and be fined not less than 10,000
yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan:
1.
appointing any of the senior management personnel whose qualifications for holding the position have not examined and approved by
the CIRC;
2.
appointing any of the senior management personnel by way of temporary person-in-charge without the approval of the CIRC;
3.
any of the temporary person-in-charge is appointed upon the approval of the CIRC due to special circumstances but the actual tenure
of office has exceeded three months;
4.
failing to report any of the decisions or appointing any of the senior management personnel or decisions of giving disciplinary punishments
to any of the senior management personnel to the CIRC according to relevant provisions.
Article 64
Any insurance brokering company that conducts business beyond its ratified scope of business conducts business in other places as
against the present Provisions shall be given a warning and be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan; if
the circumstances are serious, the scope of business of the company shall be restricted or the company shall be suspended form business
or the business license of the company shall be revoked.
Article 65
Any insurance brokering company under preparation for establishment is engaged in the insurance brokering business shall be given
a warning and be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan; if any illegal proceeds have been incurred, such
proceeds shall be confiscated; if the circumstances are serious, the qualifications for preparations shall be canceled.
Article 66
Any insurance brokering company has insurance brokering business connections with any organization or individual that is illegally
engaged in the insurance business or insurance intermediary services shall be given a warning and be fined not less than 5 times
but not more than 10 times the illegal proceeds.
Article 67
Any insurance brokering company that issues Certificates to Practice as against the present Provisions shall be given a warning and
be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan.
Article 68
Any insurance brokering company that coerces or induces or restricts conclusion of insurance contracts of other people by taking advantaging
of its administrative power, office or trade or by other unfair means shall be given a warning, and be fined not less than 100,000
yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan; if any illegal proceeds have been incurred, such proceeds shall be confiscated; if the circumstances
are serious, the company shall be ordered to suspend business or the business license of the company shall be revoked.
Article 69
Any insurance brokering company that violates the present Provisions by embezzling or usurping any of the insurance premiums or insurance
money or compensations shall be given a warning and be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan; if the circumstances
are serious, the company shall be ordered to suspend business or the business license of the company shall be revoked.
Article 70
In case any insurance brokering company that colludes with its clients in an effort to snare insurance money, the illegal proceeds
shall be confiscated and the company shall be fined not less than 1 time but not more than 3 times the amount of illegal proceeds;
if the circumstances are serious, the company shall be ordered to suspend business or the business license thereof shall be revoked.
Article 71
Any insurance brokering company that disseminates false information in its business operations, injures the reputation of other people
and causes bad effects shall be given a warning and be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan.
Article 72
Any insurance brokering company that goes beyond its scope of business and injures the lawful rights and interests of its clients
or colludes with other people in an effort to cheat its clients shall be given a warning and be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but
not more than 100,000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, the company shall be ordered to suspend business or the business license
thereof shall be re
Regulations on the Protection of Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits
(Adopted at the 36th Executive Meeting of the State Council on March 28, 2001, promulgated by Decree No. 300 of the State Council
of the People’s Republic of China on April 2001, and effective as of the date of October 1, 2001)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1. These Regulations are formulated in order to protect the exclusive right of layout-design of integrated circuits, to encourage
innovation of integrated circuits technology and to promote the development of science and technology.
Article 2. For the purposes of these Regulations:
(1) “integrated circuit” means semiconductor integrated circuit, that is, a product, in its intermediate or final form, which
uses semiconductor material as its chip, in and/or on which two or more elements, at least one of which is an active element, and
some or all of the interconnections are integrally formed and which is intended to perform a certain electronic function;
(2) “layout-design of integrated circuit”(hereinafter referred to as layout-design) means the three-dimensional disposition
of the two or more elements, at least one of which is an active element, and some or all of the interconnections of an integrated
circuit, or such a three-dimensional disposition prepared for the manufacture of an integrated circuit;
(3) “holder of the right of layout-design” means the natural person, the legal person or any other organization that, according
to these Regulations, is enpost_titled to the exclusive right of a layout-design;
(4) “reproduction” means the act of reproducing a layout-design or of reproducing an integrated circuit incorporating the layout-design;
(5) “commercial exploitation” means the act of importing, selling or otherwise distributing for commercial purposes a protected
layout-design, or an integrated circuit incorporating such a layout-design, or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit.
Article 3. Any layout-design created by a Chinese natural person, legal person or other organization shall be eligible for the exclusive right
of layout-design in accordance with these Regulations.
Any layout-design created by a foreigner shall, where it is first commercially exploited in the territory of the People’s Republic
of China, be eligible for the exclusive right of layout-design in accordance with these Regulations.
Any layout-design created by a foreigner shall be eligible for the exclusive right of layout-design in accordance with these
Regulations, if the country to which the foreigner belongs has concluded an agreement with China to protect layout-designs or both
the country to which the foreigner belongs and China are party to an international treaty concerning the protection of layout-designs.
Article 4. Any layout-design which is to be protected shall be original in the sense that the layout-design is the result of the creator’s
own intellectual effort, and it is not commonplace among creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of integrated circuits at
the time of its creation.
Where a layout-design which is to be protected consists of several commonplace layout-designs, the combination of these layout-designs
taken as a whole shall be in compliance with the requirements referred to in the preceding paragraph.
Article 5. The protection of layout-designs under these Regulations shall not extend to ideas, procedures, methods of operations or mathematical
concepts as such.
Article 6. The intellectual property administration department of the State Council is responsible for the relevant administrative work concerning
the exclusive right of layout-design in accordance with these Regulations.
Chapter II Exclusive Right of Layout-design
Article 7. The holder of the right of layout-design shall enjoy the following exclusive right:
(1) reproducing a protected layout-design in its entirety or any part thereof that complies with the requirement of originality;
(2) commercially exploiting a protected layout-design, an integrated circuit incorporating a protected layout-design, or an
article incorporating such an integrated circuit.
Article 8. The exclusive right of layout-design is acquired after its being registered with the intellectual property administration department
of the State Council.
Any unregistered layout-design shall not be protected under these Regulations.
Article 9. The exclusive right of layout-design shall belong to its creator, except as otherwise prescribed in these Regulations.
Where a layout-design is created according to the will and under the charge of a legal person or other organization, which
shall bear responsibility for such layout-design, that legal person or other organization shall be the creator.
Where a layout-design is created by a natural person, that person shall be the creator.
Article 10. Where a layout-design is created jointly by two or more natural persons, legal persons or other organizations, the ownership of
the exclusive right shall be agreed upon by the joint creators; in the absence of such an agreement or where the agreement is not
clear, the exclusive right shall be owned jointly by the creators.
Article 11. Where a layout-design is created in execution of a commission, the ownership of the exclusive right shall be agreed upon by the
person having commissioned and the person being commissioned; in the absence of such an agreement or where the agreement is not
clear, the exclusive right shall be owned by the person being commissioned.
Article 12. The term of protection of the exclusive right of layout-design shall be 10 years counted from the date of filing an application
for registration or from the date on which it was first commercially exploited anywhere in the world, whichever expires earlier.
However, no matter whether it has been registered or commercially exploited, a layout-design shall no longer be protected under these
Regulations 15 years after the date of the completion of its creation.
Article 13. Where the exclusive right of layout-design belongs to a natural person, the exclusive right shall, after the death of the natural
person and within the term of protection as prescribed in these Regulations, be transferred in accordance with the provisions of
the Succession Law.
Where the exclusive right of a layout-design belongs to a legal person or other organization, the exclusive right shall, after
the legal person or other organization is reorganized or ceases to exist and within the term of protection as prescribed in these
Regulations, be owned by the legal person or other organization which succeeds to its rights and obligations; where there is no such
legal person or other organization to succeed to its rights and obligations, the layout-design shall enter into the public domain.
Chapter III Registration of Layout-design
Article 14. The intellectual property administration department of the State Council is responsible for the registration of layout-design and
receives applications for layout-design registration.
Article 15. Where a layout-design for which registration is applied relates to the security or other vital interests of the State and is required
to be kept secret, the application shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State.
Article 16. Where an application for registration of layout-design is filed, the following shall be submitted:
(1) an application form for registration of layout-design;
(2) a copy or drawing of the layout-design;
(3) where the layout-design has been put into commercial exploitation, a sample of that integrated circuit incorporating the
layout-design;
(4) other materials required by the intellectual property administration department of the State Council.
Article 17. Any layout-design, if no application for its registration has been filed with the intellectual property administration department
of the State Council within two years from the date on which it was first commercially exploited anywhere in the world, shall no
longer be registered by the intellectual property administration department of the State Council.
Article 18. Where, after preliminary examination of an application for registration of layout-design, it is found that there is no cause for
rejection of the application, the intellectual property administration department of the State Council shall register it, issue the
registration certificate and announce it.
Article 19. Where the applicant for layout-design registration is not satisfied with the decision of the intellectual property administration
department of the State Council rejecting its or his application for registration, it or he may, within three months from the date
of receipt of the notification, request the intellectual property administration department of the State Council to make a reexamination.
The intellectual property administration department of the State Council shall, after reexamination, make a decision and notify the
applicant for layout-design registration. Where the applicant for layout-design registration is still not satisfied with the decision
of reexamination of the intellectual property administration department of the State Council, it or he may, within three months from
the date of receipt of the notification, bring a law suit before the people’s court.
Article 20. Where, after the registration of a layout-design, the intellectual property administration department of the State Council finds
that the registration does not comply with the provisions of these Regulations, it shall revoke the registration, notify the holder
of the right of layout-design and announce it. Where the holder of the right of layout-design is not satisfied with the decision
of the intellectual property administration department of the State Council revoking the registration of layout-design, it or he
may, within three months from receipt of the notification, bring a law suit before the people’s court.
Article 21. Until the announcement of the layout-design registration, staff members of the intellectual property administration department of
the State Council have the duty to keep its contents secret.
Chapter IV Exercise of Exclusive Right of Layout-design
Article 22. The holder of the right of layout-design may assign its or his exclusive right or give other persons a license to exploit its or
his layout-design.
Where the exclusive right of layout-design is assigned, the parties concerned shall conclude a written contract and register
it with the intellectual property administration department of the State Council. The intellectual property administration department
of the State Council shall announce the registration. The assignment of the exclusive right of layout-design shall take effect as
of the date of registration.
Where a license to exploit a layout-design is given to others, the parties shall conclude a written contract.
Article 23. Any of the following acts may be performed without the authorization of the holder of the right of layout-design and without any
payment of remuneration:
(1) reproducing a protected layout-design for private purposes or for the sole purpose of evaluation, analysis, research or
teaching;
(2)creating a layout-design with originality on the basis of the evaluation or analysis of a protected layout-design referred
to in the preceding sub-paragraph;
(3)reproducing or commercially exploiting a layout-design that is identical with the layout-design of another person but is
created independently by oneself.
Article 24. Where a protected layout-design, an integrated circuit incorporating such a layout-design, or an article incorporating such an integrated
circuit has been put on the market by, or with the consent of, the holder of the right of layout-design, anyone may exploit it for
commercial purposes without the authorization of, nor payment of remuneration to, the holder of the right of layout-design.
Article 25. In the case of a national emergency, or in any extraordinary state of affairs, or for the purposes of public interests, or where
it is determined according to the law by the people’s court or the supervision and inspection department against unfair competition
that there is unfair competition on the part of the holder of the right of layout-design and there is a need to give remedy, the
intellectual property administration department of the State Council may grant a non-voluntary license to exploit the layout-design.
Article 26. Any decision made by the intellectual property administration department of the State Council granting a non-voluntary license to
exploit a layout-design shall be notified promptly to the holder of the right of layout-design.
In the decision granting a non-voluntary license to exploit a layout-design, the scope and duration of the exploitation shall
be specified on the basis of the reasons justifying the grant. The scope shall be limited to non-commercial use for public purposes,
or to remedy an act of the holder of the right of layout-design determined according to the law by the people’s court or the supervision
and inspection department against unfair competition to be one of unfair competition.
When the circumstances which led to such non-voluntary license cease to exist and are unlikely to recur, the intellectual
property administration department of the State Council shall, after reviewing upon the request of the holder of the right of layout-design,
make a decision to terminate the non-voluntary license.
Article 27. Any natural person, legal person or other organization that is granted a non-voluntary license to exploit a layout-design shall
not have an exclusive right to exploit it and shall not have the right to authorize exploitation by any other person.
Article 28. Any natural person, legal person or other organization that is granted a non-voluntary license shall pay to the holder of the right
of layout-design a reasonable remuneration, the amount of which shall be fixed by both parties in consultations; where the parties
fail to reach an agreement, the intellectual property administration department of the State Council shall make an adjudication.
Article 29. Where the holder of the right of layout-design is not satisfied with the decision of the intellectual property administration department
of the State Council granting a non-voluntary license to exploit the layout-design, or where the holder of the right of layout-design
or, the natural person, legal person or other organization that is granted the non-voluntary license is not satisfied with the ruling
made by the intellectual property administration department of the State Council regarding the remuneration payable for exploitation,
it or he may, within three months from the date of receipt of notification, bring a law suit before the people’s court.
Chapter V Legal Liability
Article 30. Except as otherwise prescribed in these Regulations, where any person commits any of the following acts without the authorization
of the holder of the right of layout-design, he or it must stop the acts immediately and bear liability to compensate for the damage:
(1) reproducing a protected layout-design in its entirety or any part thereof that complies with the requirement of originality;
(2) importing, selling, or otherwise distributing for commercial purposes a protected layout-design, an integrated circuit
incorporating such a layout-design, or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit.
The amount of compensation for the damage caused by an infringement of the exclusive right of layout-design shall be the profits
which the infringer has earned through the infringement or the losses suffered by the person whose right was infringed, including
the reasonable expenses paid by the infringed person for the purposes of stopping the infringement.
Article 31. Where a dispute arises as a result of the exploitation of a layout-design without the authorization of the holder of the right of
layout-design, that is, the infringement of the exclusive right of layout-design, it shall be settled through consultation by the
parties concerned. Where the parties are not willing to consult with each other or where the consultation fails, the holder of the
right of layout-design or any interested party may bring a law suit before the people’s court, or request the intellectual property
administration department of the State Council to handle the matter. When the intellectual property administration department of
the State Council handling the matter considers that the infringement is established, it may order the infringer to stop the infringing
act immediately, and confiscate or destroy the infringing products or articles. If the party concerned is not satisfied with the
decision, he may, within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notification, bring a law suit before the people’s court in accordance
with the Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China. If, within the said time limit, the infringer does not institute
legal proceedings and refuses to stop the infringing act, the intellectual property administration department of the State Council
may apply to the people’s court for compulsory enforcement. The intellectual property administration department of the State Council
may, upon the request of the parties, mediate in the amount of compensation for the damage caused by the infringement of the exclusive
right of layout-design. If the mediation fails, the parties may bring a law suit before the people’s court in accordance with the
Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Article 32. Where any holder of the right of layout-design or interested party has evidence to prove that another person is infringing or will
soon infringe its or his exclusive right and that if such infringing act is not checked or prevented from occurring in time, it is
likely to cause irreparable harm to its or his `legitimate rights, it or he may, before any legal proceedings are instituted, request
the people’s court to adopt measures for ordering the suspension of relevant acts and the preservation of property.
Article 33. Where any person commercially exploits an integrated circuit which is incorporated an unlawfully reproduced layout-design, or an
article which is incorporated an integrated circuit with unlawfully reproduced layout-design, and if at the time of acquiring the
said integrated circuit or article, that person did not know and had no reasonable ground to know that the said integrated circuit
incorporated an unlawfully reproduced layout-design, or the said article incorporated an integrated circuit with unlawfully reproduced
layout-design, the commercial exploitation of such integrated circuit or article by that person shall not be deemed as infringing
the right of layout design.
After being notified that the integrated circuit or the article is incorporated with an unlawfully-reproduced layout-design,
the person referred to in the preceding paragraph may, subject to payment of reasonable remuneration to the holder of the right of
layout-design, continue to commercially exploit the stock on hand or ordered before the notification.
Article 34. Where any staff member of the intellectual property administration department of the State Council, in the work of layout-design
administration, neglects his duty, abuses his power or commits illegalities for personal gains or by fraudulent means shall be investigated
for criminal liability in accordance with law if a crime is constituted, if the case is not serious enough to constitute a crime,
he shall be given administrative sanction in accordance with law.
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Article 35. When applying for layout-design registration and going through other formalities, fees shall be paid as prescribed. The standard
of the fees shall be fixed by the price administration department of the State Council and the intellectual property administration
department of the State Council, and shall be announced by the intellectual property administration department of the State Council.
Article 36. These Regulations shall enter into force as of October 1, 2001.
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SIPO P.R.C.
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EDITOR:Victor
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