| Category |
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT |
Organ of Promulgation |
The State Council |
Status of Effect |
In Force |
| Date of Promulgation |
1991-05-30 |
Effective Date |
1991-06-01 |
|
|
|
Regulations for the Implementation of Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China |
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Copyright Administrative Authorities
Chapter III Ownership and Exercise of Copyright
Chapter IV Copyright Licensing Contracts
Chapter V Exercise of and Limitations on Rights Relating to Copyright
Chapter VI Administrative Sanctions
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
(Approved by the State Council on May 24, 1991, and promulgated by Decree
No. 1 of the National Copyright Administration on May 30, 1991)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Regulations for the Implementation are formulated in
accordance with Article 54 of the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of
China (hereinafter referred to as “the Copyright Law”).
Article 2 The term “works” as used in the Copyright Law means
intellectual creations with originality in the literary, artistic or
scientific domain, insofar as they are capable of being reproduced in a
tangible form.
Article 3 The term “creation” as used in the Copyright Law means
intellectual activities that directly create literary, artistic or scientific
works.
Any organizational work, consultation, material support or other
auxiliary services offered to the creation of other shall not be deemed as
creation.
Article 4 For the purposes of the Copyright Law and these Regulations,
the following expressions concerning works shall have the meanings hereunder
assigned to them:
(1) “written works” means works expressed in written form, such as novels,
poems, essays, and theses;
(2) “oral works” means works which are created in spoken words and have
not been fixed on any material carrier, such as impromptu speeches, lectures
and court debates;
(3) “musical works” means such works as symphonic works and songs, with
or without accompanying words, which can be sung or performed;
(4) “dramatic works” means such works as dramas, operas and local
traditional operas which are used for stage performance;
(5) “quyi works” means such works as “xiang sheng” (cross talk),
“kuaishu” (clapper talk), “dagu” (ballad singing with drum accompaniment) and
“pingshu” (story telling based on classical novels), which are all used for
performance involving mainly recitation or singing, or both;
(6) “choreographic works” means works which are or can be expressed in
successive body movements, gestures and facial movements;
(7) “works of fine arts” means two- or three-dimensional works of the
plastic arts created in lines, colours or other media which impart aesthetic
effect, such as paintings, works of calligraphy, sculptures and works of
architecture;
(8) “photographic works” means the kind of artistic works created by
recording images of objects on light-sensitive materials with the aid of
devices;
(9) “cinematographic, television and videographic works” means works
which are recorded on some material consisting of a series of images, with or
without accompanying sound, and which can be projected or broadcast with the
aid of suitable devices;
(10) “drawing of engineering designs and product designs, and their
descriptions” means drawings designed for the purpose of actual construction
and manufacturing, and the description contained in the said drawings;
(11) “maps, diagrammatic sketches and other graphic works” means two- or
three-dimensional works showing geographical phenomena or demonstrating the
fundamentals or the structure of a thing or an object, such as geographical
maps, circuit plans or anatomical drawings.
Article 5 For the purposes of the Copyright Law and these Regulations,
the following expressions concerning modes of exploitation of works shall
have the meanings hereunder assigned to them:
(1) “reproduction” means the act of producing one or more copies of a
work by printing, photocopying, copying, lithographing, making a sound
recording or video recording, duplicating a photographic work, or by other
means;
(2) “performance” means the public presentation of a work by performing
music or drama, reciting a poem, or doing similar acts through vocal sound,
facial movements and body movements, directly or with the aid of technical
devices;
(3) “broadcasting” means the communication of works through wireless
radio waves or cable television system;
(4) “exhibition” means the public display of the original copies or
reproductions of works of fine arts and photograph;
(5) “distribution” means the provision of a certain number of copies of a
work to the public through selling, renting or other means, insofar as the
said number of copies satisfy the reasonable needs of the public;
(6) “publication” means the public distribution of copies of the edited
version of a work;
(7) “the making of cinematographic, television or video works” means the
fixation for the first time of a work on a certain carrier by way of
cinematographic production or similar means. The mere mechanical recording of
a performance or scenery shall not be regarded as the making of the
above-mentioned works;
(8) “adaptation” means the creation of new works with originality on the
basis of preexisting ones by changing their original forms of expression or
their purposes for use;
(9) “translation” means the conversion of the language of a work into
another language;
(10) “annotation” means the explanation of the characters, words and
sentences used in a written work;
(11) “compilation” means the creation of a work by assembling a number of
selected pre-existing works, in whole or in part, according to an arrangement
designed for a specific purpose;
(12) “arrangement” means the re-editing of pre-existing written works or
materials that are in a fragmented and poorly ordered state so as to turn
them into a systematic and orderly state, such as the glossing and repairing
of ancient classics.
Article 6 For the purposes of the Copyright Law and these Regulations,
the following expressions shall have the meanings hereunder assigned to them:
(1) “news on current events” means the mere facts or happenings conveyed
by newspapers, periodicals and radio and television programmes;
(2) “sound recordings” means the original recordation of any sound;
(3) “video recordings” means the original recordation of a connected
series of related images, with or without accompanying sounds, other than
cinematographic and television and videographic works;
(4) “radio and television broadcasts” means the programmes communicated
by a radio or television station by means of diffusing signals carrying
sounds or images or both;
(5) “producer of sound recordings” means a person who makes sound
recordings;
(6) “producer of video recordings” means a person who makes video
recordings;
(7) “performer” means an actor or any other person who performs literary
and artistic works.
Chapter II Copyright Administrative Authorities
Article 7 The National Copyright Administration is the copyright
demonstration department under the State Council and shall be responsible for
the nationwide work of administration of copyright. Its main functions are:
(1) to implement copyright-related laws and regulations, and to formulate
measures in relation to copyright administration;
(2) to investigate and handle cases of infringement of copyright that are
of nationwide influence;
(3) to approve the establishment of collective administrative organs of
copyright, foreign-related copyright agencies and arbitration agencies on
disputes of copyright contracts, and to supervise and guide their work;
(4) to be in charge of the foreign-related copyright administration;
(5) to administer copyrights of which the State is the owner;
(6) to provide guidance for the work of local copyright administration
departments;
(7) to discharge other duties assigned by the State Council in relation
to copyright administration.
Article 8 The copyright administration departments under the local
people’s governments shall be in charge of the copyright administration
within their respective administrative areas, whose functions shall be
determined respectively by the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous
regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.
Chapter III Ownership and Exercise of Copyright
Section 1 Ownership of Copyright
Article 9 Unless otherwise provided by law, copyright of a work shall
belong to the citizen who has created the work, or the legal entity or an
entity without legal personality which is deemed as the author of the work.
A legal entity must be in conformity with the conditions laid down by the
General Principles of Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China. Registered
social institutions and economic organizations which do not meet the
conditions of legal entities, and the relatively independent constituent
departments forming a legal entity are entities without legal personality.
Article 10 Persons who have glossed or rearranged others’ pre-existing
works shall enjoy the copyright in the works thus created, but shall not be
enpost_titled to copyright in the original works and shall not prevent other
persons from glossing or rearranging the same pre-existing works.
Article 11 Where co-authors fail to reach an agreement through
consultation on the exercise of copyright in a joint work which cannot be
used separately, any party may not prevent the other party from exercising
the said copyright without legitimate reasons.
Article 12 In the case of works of compilation in form of encyclopaedias,
dictionaries, textbooks, photo books of large size or the like, the copyright
in such works as a whole shall belong to the legal entities or entities
without legal personality which have sponsored the creation, provided
financial aid or materials for the creation and bear the responsibilities in
relation to the said works.
Article 13 Where the copyright owner has authorized others to make
cinematographic, television or videographic works based on his works, it is
deemed that he has permitted them to make necessary alteration of his works,
insofar as such alteration does not distort or mutilate the original work.
Article 14 Where copyright in a work created in the course of employment
belongs to the author, the author may, in the case that the entity to which
he belongs has not exploited the work in the scope of its professional
activities within two years after the completion of the work, request the
said entity to permit a third party to exploit the work in the same manner as
the entity may have, the said entity may not refuse the request, unless it
has legitimate reasons.
Remuneration obtained from the use of a work by a third party permitted
by the author within two years after the creation of the work, with the
consent of the entity to which he belongs and used in the same manner as the
entity may have shall be divided between the author and the entity according
to agreed proportions.
After the expiry of the period of two years after the completion of a
work, the entity may continue to exploit the work within the scope of its
professional activities.
The duration of two years period after the completion of a work shall be
calculated from the date on which the work is submitted to the entity.
Article 15 The material and technical resources mentioned in Item (1),
second paragraph of Article 16 of the Copyright Law shall mean the funds,
equipments or materials provided exclusively for the creation of a work.
Article 16 In the case of a work of an unidentified author, the
copyright, except the right of authorship, shall be exercised by the lawful
holder of the original copy of the work. Where the author has been identified,
the copyright shall be exercised by the author or his heir in post_title.
Article 17 The provisions in Article 18 of the Copyright Law, which
reads that the transfer of ownership of the original copy of a work of fine
arts or other works shall not be deemed to include the transfer of copyright
in such work, is applicable to any work of which the ownership of the
original copy can be transferred.
Section 2 Inheritance of Copyright
Article 18 Inheritance of property rights contained in copyright shall
be executed in accordance with the Law of Inheritance.
Article 19 In the case where one of the coauthors of a work of joint
authorship dies without heir in post_title or other behested beneficiary, the
right of exploitation and right to remuneration he enjoyed in the work shall
be exercised by the other coauthors.
Article 20 The right of authorship, right of revision and right of
integrity shall, after the death of the author, be protected by the heir in
post_title and other behested beneficiary. In the absence of an heir in post_title or
other behested beneficiary, the right of authorship, the right of revision
and the right of integrity shall be protected by copyright administration
departments.
Article 21 Copyright enjoyed by the State shall be exercised by the
copyright administration departments on behalf of the State.
Article 22 In the case of posthumous work, the right of publication may
be exercised by the author’s heir in post_title or other behested beneficiary
within a period of 50 years, unless the author had expressly stated
otherwise. In the absence of an heir in post_title or other behested beneficiary,
the said right shall be exercised by lawful holder of the original copy of
the work.
Section 3 Acquisition of Copyright and Calculation of the Term of
Protection
Article 23 Copyright shall occur on the date when a work is created and
shall be protected under the Copyright Law.
Article 24 In the case of a work of an unidentified author, the term of
protection in relation to the right of exploitation and the right to
remuneration shall be 50 years ending on December 31 of the 50th year after
the first publication of the work. Article 21 of the Copyright Law shall be
applicable after the author of the work has been identified.
Article 25 In the case of a work of a foreigner first published in the
territory of China, the term of protection shall be calculated from the date
of the first publication of the work.
The first publication of a work of a foreigner in the territory of China
mentioned in the second paragraph of Article 2 of the Copyright Law refers to
the publication of an unpublished work of foreigner for the first time in the
territory of China by lawful means.
Where a foreigner’s work first published outside China is published in
China within 30 days thereafter, it shall be deemed first published in the
territory of China.
Unpublished works of foreigners, if their authorized adaptations or
translations are first published in China, shall be deemed first published in
the territory of China.
Section 4 Limitations on Rights
Article 26 A published work as mentioned in the Copyright Law refer to a
work which has been made available by the copyright owner to the public by
means as stipulated in the Copyright Law.
Article 27 The following conditions have to be conformed with for an act
to be deemed appropriate quotation of published works by others, as mentioned
in Article 22, Item (2) of the Copyright Law:
(1) the quotation is made solely for the purpose of introduction to, or
comment on, a work or demonstration of a point;
(2) the quotation shall not form a major or substantial part of the work
of the quoter;
(3) the interests of the copyright owner of the work being quoted shall
not be prejudiced.
Article 28 The provisions of Article 22, Item (3) of the Copyright Law
refer to unavoidable inclusion of published works as is justified by the
purpose of reporting current events.
Article 29 The use of published works of other persons in accordance
with the provisions of Article 22, Items (6) and (7) of the Copyright Law
shall not harm the normal exploitation of the works concerned and shall not
unreasonably prejudice the lawful rights and interests of the copyright
owners.
Article 30 Where a published work is performed in accordance with the
provisions of Article 22, Item (9) of the Copyright Law, no fees shall be
charged on the audience and no payments shall be made to the performers.
Article 31 The provisions of Article 22, Item (11) of the Copyright Law
shall be applicable only to the works originally created in the language of
the Han nationality.
Chapter IV Copyright Licensing Contracts
Article 32 The contracts with copyright owners and the license obtained
for using their works shall be made in written form, except in cases where w
orks are to be published by newspapers or periodicals.
Article 33 In default of a clear indication in a contract in relation to
the grant of exclusive right to use, only a nonexclusive right to use by the
licensee shall be granted, unless the Copyright Law stipulates otherwise.
Article 34 The provision of standard forms of various copyright
licensing contracts shall be the responsibility of the National Copyright
Administration.
Article 35 The person who has obtained the exclusive right in relation
to the use in a certain way of a work shall have the right to prevent any
other person, including the copyright owner, from using the work in the same
way. However, the sublicensing of the same right to a third party shall be
subject to permission by the copyright owner, unless the contract stipulates
otherwise.
Chapter V Exercise of and Limitations on Rights Relating to Copyright
Article 36 Rights relating to copyright, as mentioned in the Copyright
Law and these Regulations, mean the right enjoyed by publishers in their
publications, the right enjoyed by performers in their performances, the
right enjoyed by producers of audio and video recordings in their products
and the right enjoyed by radio and television stations in their broadcasts.
Article 37 Publishers, performers, producers of audio and video
recordings and radio and television stations, in the course of exercising
their rights, shall not prejudice the rights of the copyright owners of the
works being used and of the original work.
Article 38 Publishers shall enjoy exclusive right of exploitation in the
typographical design of the books, newspapers and periodicals which they have
published.
Article 39 In accordance with Article 30 of the Copyright Law, the
exclusive right of publisher to publish a work in its original language and
in the form of original edition, revised version or abridged version shall,
within the term of validity of and the domain of execution defined by the
contract, be protected by law.
Article 40 In the case where a manuscript is submitted to a publisher on
the author’s own initiative, the publisher shall, within six months, notify
the author whether the work will be published or not. In case of acceptance,
a contract shall be singed; in case of refusal, a timely notification shall
be sent to the author. Where no notification is served or no contract is
signed, the author may, upon expiry of six months, demand that the manuscript
be returned and financial compensation be made. The duration of six months
shall be calculated from the date of receipt of the manuscript by the
publishers.
Article 41 The provisions of Articles 29, 30, 31 and 33 of the Copyright
Law shall not be applicable where the cost of publication of a work is borne
by the copyright owner.
Article 42 The state of stocks being exhausted in relation to a work as
mentioned in Article 31 of the Copyright Law shall be established if two
successive subscription forms mailed by the copyright owner to the publisher
fail to receive any reply within six months.
Article 43 Where a copyright owner intends to declare that reprinting or
excerpting is not permitted in accordance with the second paragraph of
Article 32 of the Copyright Law, the copyright owner is required to append
that declaration to the work when it is first published in a newspaper or a
periodical.
Article 44 No timelimit shall be set on the term of protection in
relation to the rights provided for in Article 36, Items (1) and (2) of the
Copyright Law.
In the case of the term of protection in relation to the right to
remuneration which the performers enjoyed in accordance with the second
paragraph of Article 39 and the third paragraph of Article 42 of the
Copyright Law, the first paragraph of Article 39 and the second paragraph of
Article 42 of the Copyright Law shall apply.
Article 45 In accordance with Article 35 of the Copyright Law, a
performer shall pay remuneration to the copyright owner through the organizer
of the performance.
Article 46 Performance by foreign performers in the territory of China
shall be protected by the Copyright Law.
Article 47 Audio and video recordings produced and distributed in the
territory of China by foreign producers shall be protected by the Copyright
Law.
Article 48 Where a copyright owner intends to declare that the
performance, recording or making broadcasts of his work is not permitted in
accordance with the second paragraph of Article 35, the first paragraph of
Article 37 and the second paragraph of Article 40 of the Copyright Law, the
copyright owner is required to do that when his work is published, or have
his declaration carried in the copyright bulletin issued by the National
Copyright Administration.
Article 49 To use published works of other persons in accordance with
the second paragraph of Article 32, the second paragraph of Article 35, the
first paragraph of Article 37 and the second paragraph of Article 40 of the
Copyright Law, the user shall pay remuneration to the copyright owner. In the
case where the copyright owner is not identifiable or the address of the
copyright owner is not available, the remuneration payable shall be remitted,
within one month, to an agency designated by the National Copyright
Administration for further transfer to the due copyright owner.
Chapter VI Administrative Sanctions
Article 50 Infringements against copyright enumerated in Article 46 of
the Copyright Law shall be liable to the administrative sanctions to be
imposed by copyright administration departments in the form of warning,
injunction in relation to production and distribution of infringing copies,
confiscation of unlawful gains and seizure of infringing copies and
equipments used for making infringing copies, as well as a fine.
Article 51 The amount of a fine to be imposed for infringements against
copyright enumerated in Article 46 of the Copyright Law shall be, depending
on the seriousness of each of the cases, as follows:
(1) an infringing act as mentioned in Article 46, Item (1) of the
Copyright Law shall be liable to a fine of 100 to 5,000 yuan (RMB);
(2) infringing acts as mentioned in Article 46, Items (2), (3), (4), (5)
and (6) of the Copyright Law shall be liable to a fine of 10,000 to 100,000
yuan (RMB), or an amount of two to five times as much as the prices in total;
(3) an infringing act as mentioned in Article 46, Item (7) of the
Copyright Law shall be liable to a fine of 1,000 to 50,000 yuan (RMB).
Article 52 Copyright administration departments under the local people’s
governments shall be responsible for investigating and handling the
infringements against copyright enumerated in Article 46 of the Copyright Law
within their respective administrative areas.
The National Copyright Administration shall investigate and handle the
following infringements against copyright enumerated in Article 46 of the
Copyright Law:
(1) infringements against copyright that are of nationwide influence;
(2) infringements against copyright where a foreign party is involved;
(3) infringements against copyright that the investigation and handling
of which are deemed to be the responsibility of the National Copyright
Administration.
Article 53 In exercising its right of imposing administrative sanctions,
a copyright administration department may order the infringer to compensate
the infringed party for the suffered loss.
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Article 54 Copyright owners may exercise their copyrights by way of
collective administration.
Article 55 The National Copyright Administration shall be responsible
for the interpretation of these Regulations.
Article 56 These Regulations shall enter into force as of June 1, 1991.
