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 the 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 entities without legal
personality, whether published or not, shall enjoy copyright
in accordance with this Law.
Works of
foreigners first published in the territory of the People's
Republic of China shall enjoy copyright in accordance with
this Law.
Any work of a foreigner published
outside the territory of the People's Republic of China
which is eligible to enjoy copyright under an agreement
concluded between the country to which the foreigner belongs
and China, or under an international treaty to which both
countries are party, shall be protected in accordance with
this Law.
Article 3. For the purposes of this
Law, the term ""works" includes works of
literature, art, natural science, social science,
engineering technology and the like which are expressed in
the following forms:
(1) written works;
(2) oral works;
(3) musical,
dramatic, quyi* and choreographic works;
*
Quyi refers to such traditional art forms as ballad singing,
story telling, comic dialogues, clapper talks and cross
talks (translator's note).
(4) works of fine
art and photographic works;
(5)
cinematographic, television and videographic works;
(6) drawings of engineering designs and
product designs, and descriptions thereof;
(7)
maps, sketches and other graphic works;
(8)
computer software;
(9) other works as provided
for in laws and administrative regulations.
Article 4. Works the publication or
distribution of which is prohibited by law shall not be
protected by this Law.
Copyright owners, in
exercising their copyright, shall not violate the
Constitution or laws or prejudice the public interest.
Article 5. This Law shall not be applicable
to:
(1) laws; regulations; resolutions,
decisions and orders of state organs; other documents of a
legislative, administrative or judicial nature; and their
official translations;
(2) news on current
affairs; and
(3) calendars, numerical tables,
forms of general use and formulas.
Article 6.
Regulations for the protection of copyright in expressions
of folklore shall be established separately by the State
Council.
Article 7. Where any scientific or
technological work is protected under the Patent Law, the
Law on Technology Contracts or similar laws, the provisions
of those laws shall apply.
Article 8. 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 and
municipality directly under the Central Government shall be
responsible for the administration of copyright in its
administrative area.
CHAPTER II
Copyright
Section 1 -
Copyright Owners and Their Rights
Article 9.
The term "copyright owners" shall include:
(1) authors;
(2) other citizens,
legal entities and entities without legal personality
enjoying copyright in accordance with this Law.
Article 10. The term "copyright"
shall include the following personality rights and property
rights:
(1) the right of publication, that is,
the right to decide whether to make 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 exploitation and the right to remuneration, that
is, the right of exploiting one's work by reproduction, live
performance, broadcasting, exhibition, distribution, making
cinematographic, television or video production, adaptation,
translation, annotation, compilation and the like, and the
right of authorizing others to exploit one's work by the
above-mentioned means and of receiving remuneration
therefor.
Section 2 - Ownership of
Copyright
Article 11. Except where 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 entity
without legal personality, such legal entity or entity
without legal personality shall be deemed to be the author
of the work. The citizen, legal entity or entity without
legal personality whose name is mentioned in connection with
a work shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be
deemed to be the author of the work .
Article
12. Where a work is created by adaptation, translation,
annotation or arrangement of a preexisting work, the
copyright in the work thus created shall be enjoyed by the
adapter, translator, annotator or arranger, provided that
the exercise of such copyright shall not prejudice the
copyright in the original work.
Article 13.
Where a work is created jointly by two or more coauthors,
the copyright in the work shall be enjoyed jointly by those
coauthors.
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 coauthor shall be entitled to independent copyright in
the parts that he has created, provided that the exercise of
such copyright shall not prejudice the copyright in the
joint work as a whole.
Article 14. The
copyright in a work created by compilation shall be enjoyed
by the compiler, provided that the exercise of such
copyright shall not prejudice the copyright in the
preexisting works included in the compilation.
The authors of such works included in a
compilation as can be exploited separately shall be entitled
to exercise their copyright in their works independently.
Article 15. The director, scriptwriter,
lyricist, composer, cameraman and other authors of a
cinematographic, television or videographic work shall enjoy
the right of authorship in the work, while the other rights
included in the copyright shall be enjoyed by the producer
of the work.
The authors of the screenplay,
musical works and other works that are included in a
cinematographic, television or videographic work and can be
exploited separately shall be entitled to exercise their
copyright independently.
Article 16. A work
created by a citizen in the fulfillment of tasks assigned to
him by a legal entity or entity without legal personality
shall be deemed to be a work created in the course of
employment. The copyright in such work shall be enjoyed by
the author, subject to the provisions of the second
paragraph of this Article, provided that the legal entity or
entity without legal personality 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 entity without legal personality, authorize a
third party to exploit the work in the same way as the legal
entity or entity without legal personality does.
In the following cases the author of a work
created in the course of employment shall enjoy the right of
authorship, while the legal entity or entity without legal
personality shall enjoy the other rights included in the
copyright and may reward the author:
(1)
drawings of engineering designs and product designs and
descriptions thereof, computer software, maps and other
works created in the course of employment mainly with the
material and technical resources of the legal entity or
entity without legal personality and under its
responsibility;
(2) works created in the
course of employment where the copyright is, in accordance
with laws, administrative regulations or contracts, enjoyed
by the legal entity or entity without legal personality.
Article 17. The ownership of the copyright in
a commissioned work shall be agreed upon in a contract
between the commissioning and the commissioned parties. In
the absence of 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
other works, shall not be deemed to include the transfer of
the copyright in such work, provided that 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 in a work
belongs to a citizen, the right of exploitation and the
right to remuneration in respect of the work shall, after
his death, during the term of protection provided for in
this Law, be transferred in accordance with the provisions
of the Inheritance Law.
Where the copyright in
a work belongs to a legal entity or entity without legal
personality, the right of exploitation and the right to
remuneration shall, after the change or the termination of
the status of the legal entity or entity without legal
personality, during the term of protection provided for in
this Law, be enjoyed by the succeeding legal entity or
entity without legal personality which has taken over the
former's rights and obligations, or, in the absence of such
successor entity, 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. The term of
protection of the right of publication, the right of
exploitation and the right to remuneration in respect of a
work of a citizen 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, the right of exploitation and the right to
remuneration in respect of a work where the copyright
belongs to a legal entity or entity without legal
personality, or in respect of a work created in the course
of employment where the legalentity or entity without legal
personality 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
work, provided that any such work that has not been
published within fifty years after the completion of its
creation shall no longer be protected under this Law.
The term of protection of the right of
publication, the right of exploitation and the right to
remuneration in respect of a cinematographic, television,
videographic or photographic work shall be fifty years,
expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first
publication of such work, provided that any such work that
has not been published within fifty years after the
completion of its creation shall no longer be protected
under this Law.
Section 4 - Limitations on
Rights
Article 22. In the following cases, a
work may be exploited without permission from, and without
payment of remuneration to, the copyright owner, provided
that the name of the author and the title of the work shall
be mentioned and the other rights enjoyed by the copyright
owner by virtue of this Law shall not be prejudiced:
(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 to, or comments on, a work, or demonstration of
a point;
(3) use of a published work in
newspapers, periodicals, radio programs, television programs
or newsreels for the purpose of reporting current events;
(4) reprinting by newspapers or periodicals,
or rebroadcasting by radio stations or television stations,
of editorials or commentators' articles published by other
newspapers, periodicals, radio stations or television
stations;
(5) publication in newspapers or
periodicals, or broadcasting by radio stations or television
stations, of a speech delivered at a public gathering,
except where the author has declared that publication or
broadcasting is not permitted;
(6)
translation, or reproduction in a small quantity 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 shall not be
published or distributed;
(7) use of a
published work by a state organ 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 purposes of the display, or
preservation of a copy, of the work;
(9)
free-of-charge live performance of a published work;
(10) copying, drawing, photographing or video
recording of an artistic work located or on display in an
outdoor public place;
(11) translation of a
published work from the Han language into minority
nationality languages for publication and distribution
within the country;
(12) transliteration of a
published work into braille and publication of the work so
transliterated.
The above limitations on
rights shall be applicable also to the rights of publishers,
performers, producers of sound recordings and video
recordings, radio stations and television stations.
CHAPTER III
Copyright Licensing
Contracts
Article 23. Subject to provisions in
this Law according to which no permission is needed, anyone
who exploits a work created by others shall conclude a
contract with, or otherwise obtain permission from, the
copyright owner.
Article 24. A contract shall
include the following basic clauses:
(1) the
manner of exploitation of 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 scope and term of the license;
(4) the amount of the remuneration and the
method of its payment;
(5) the liability in
the case of breach of the contract;
(6) any
other matter that the contracting parties consider
necessary.
Article 25. The licensee shall not,
without permission from the copyright owner, exercise any
right that the copyright owner has not expressly licensed in
the contract.
Article 26. The term of validity
of a contract shall not exceed ten years. The contract may
be renewed on expiration of that term.
Article
27. The tariffs for remuneration for the exploitation of
works shall be established by the copyright administration
department under the State Council in collaboration with
other departments concerned.
Where otherwise
agreed to in a contract, remuneration may also be paid in
accordance with the terms of the said contract.
Article 28. Publishers, performers, producers
of sound recordings and video recordings, radio stations,
television stations and other entities who or which have
obtained, pursuant to this Law, the right to exploit the
copyright of others, shall not infringe the authors' rights
of authorship, alteration or integrity, or their right to
remuneration.
CHAPTER
IV
Publication, Performance, Sound Recording,
Video Recording and Broadcasting
Section 1 -
Publication of Books, Newspapers and Periodicals
Article 29. A book publisher who publishes a
book shall conclude a publishing contract with, and pay
remuneration to, the copyright owner.
Article
30. During the term of the contract, a book publisher shall
have the exclusive right to publish the work delivered to
him by the copyright owner for publication. The term of the
exclusive right to publish, enjoyed by the publisher as
specified in the contract, shall not exceed ten years. The
contract may be renewed on expiration.
During
the term specified in the contract, the exclusive right to
publish a work enjoyed by the book publisher shall be
protected by law, and the work may not be published by
others.
Article 31. The copyright owner shall
deliver the work within the term specified in the contract.
The book publisher shall publish the work in accordance with
the quality requirements and within the term specified in
the contract.
The book publisher shall bear
the civil liability specified in Article 47 of this Law if
he fails to publish the work within the term specified in
the contract.
The book publisher shall notify,
and pay remuneration to, the copyright owner when the work
is to be reprinted or republished. If the publisher refuses
to reprint or republish the work when stocks of the book are
exhausted, the copyright owner shall have the right to
terminate the contract.
Article 32. Where a
copyright owner has submitted the manuscript of his work to
a newspaper or a periodical publisher for publication and
has not received, within 15 days from the newspaper
publisher or within 30 days from the periodical publisher,
counted from the date of submission of the manuscript, any
notification of the said publisher's decision to publish the
work, 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 prescribed in
regulations.
Article 33. A book publisher may
alter or abridge a work with the permission of the copyright
owner.
A newspaper or periodical publisher may
make editorial modifications and abridgments in a work, but
shall not make modifications in the content of the work
unless permission has been obtained from the author.
Article 34. When publishing works created by
adaptation, translation, annotation, arrangement or
compilation of preexisting works, the publisher shall pay
remuneration both to the owners of the copyright in the
works created by means of adaptation, translation,
annotation, arrangement or compilation and to the owners of
the copyright in the original works.
Section 2
Performance
Article 35. A performer (an
individual performer or a performing group) who for a
performance exploits an unpublished work created by another
shall obtain permission from, and pay remuneration to, the
copyright owner.
A performer who for a
commercial performance exploits a published work created by
another does not need permission from, but shall, as
prescribed by 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.
A performer who for a commercial
performance exploits a work created by adaptation,
translation, annotation or arrangement of a preexisting work
shall pay remuneration both to the owner of the copyright in
the work created by adaptation, translation, annotation or
arrangement and to the owner of the copyright in the
original work.
Where a performer performs a
work created by another and that performance is exploited
for the production of a sound recording, video recording,
radio program or television program, Article 37 and Article
40 shall apply.
Article 36. A performer shall,
in relation to his performance, enjoy the right
(1) to claim performership;
(2)
to protect the image inherent in his performance from
distortion;
(3) to authorize others to make
live broadcasts;
(4) to authorize others to
make sound recordings and video recordings for commercial
purposes, and to receive remuneration therefor.
Section 3 Sound Recording and Video
Recording
Article 37. A producer of sound
recordings who, for the production of a sound recording,
exploits an unpublished work created by another, shall
obtain permission from, and pay remuneration to, the
copyright owner. A producer of sound recordings who, for the
production of a sound recording, exploits a published work
created by another, does not need permission from, but
shall, as prescribed by 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.
A producer of video recordings
who, for the production of a 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 preexisting work shall pay
remuneration both to the owner of the copyright in the work
created by adaptation, translation, annotation or
arrangement and to the owner of the copyright in the
original work.
Article 38. When producing a
sound recording or video recording, the producer shall
conclude a contract with, and pay remuneration to, the
performers.
Article 39. A producer of sound
recordings or video recordings shall have the right to
authorize others to reproduce and distribute such sound
recordings or video recordings and the right to obtain
remuneration therefor. The term of protection of such rights
shall be fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the
fiftieth year after the first publication of the recording.
A producer of sound recordings or video
recordings who is authorized to reproduce and distribute a
sound recording or video recording shall also pay
remuneration to the copyright owner and to the performer as
prescribed by regulations.
Section 4
Broadcasting by a Radio Station or Television
Station
Article 40. A radio station or
television station that exploits, for the production of a
radio or television program, an unpublished work created by
another, shall obtain permission from, and pay remuneration
to, the copyright owner.
A radio station or
television station that exploits, for the production of a
radio or television program, a published work created by
another does not need a permission from the copyright owner,
but such a work shall not be exploited where the copyright
owner has declared that such exploitation is not permitted.
In addition, remuneration shall be paid as prescribed by
regulations unless this Law provides that no remuneration
needs to be paid.
A radio station or
television station that exploits, for the production of a
radio or television program, a work created by adaptation,
translation, annotation or arrangement of a preexisting
work, shall pay remuneration both to the owner of the
copyright in the work created by adaptation, translation,
annotation or arrangement and to the owner of the copyright
in the original work.
Article 41. When
producing a radio program or television program, the radio
station or television station shall conclude a contract
with, and pay remuneration to, the performers.
Article 42. A radio station or television
station shall, in respect of a program produced by it, enjoy
the right:
(1) to broadcast the program;
(2) to authorize others to broadcast the
program, and to receive remuneration therefor;
(3) to authorize others to reproduce and
distribute the radio or television program, and to receive
remuneration therefor.
The term of protection
of the rights specified in the preceding paragraph shall be
fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year
after the first broadcasting of the program.
A
producer of sound recordings or video recordings who is
authorized to reproduce and distribute a radio or television
program shall also pay remuneration to the copyright owner
and to the performer as prescribed by regulations.
Article 43. A radio station or television
station that broadcasts, for non-commercial purposes, a
published sound recording needs not obtain permission from,
or pay remuneration to, the copyright owner, performer or
producer of the sound recording.
Article 44. A
television station that broadcasts a cinematographic,
television or video graphic work produced by another shall
obtain permission from, and pay remuneration to, the
producer of the cinematographic, television or video graphic
work.
CHAPTER V
Legal
Liabilities
Article 45. Anyone who commits any
of the following acts of infringement shall bear 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 consent of the copyright owner;
(2)
publishing a work of joint authorship as a work created
solely by oneself, without the consent of the other
coauthors;
(3) having one's name mentioned in
connection with a work created by another, in order to seek
personal fame and gain, where one has not taken part in the
creation of the work;
(4) distorting or
mutilating a work created by another;
(5)
exploiting a work by performance, broadcasting, exhibition,
distribution, making cinematographic, television or video
productions, adaptation, translation, annotation,
compilation, or by other means, without the consent of the
copyright owner, unless otherwise provided in this Law;
(6) exploiting a work created by another
without paying remuneration as prescribed by regulations;
(7) broadcasting a live performance without
the consent of the performer;
(8) committing
other acts of infringement of copyright and of other rights
related to copyright.
Article 46. Anyone who
commits any of the following acts of infringement shall bear
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, and may, in addition, be subjected by a
copyright administration department to such administrative
penalties as confiscation of unlawful income from the act or
imposition of a fine:
(1) plagiarizing a work
created by another;
(2) reproducing and
distributing a work for commercial purposes without the
consent of the copyright owner;
(3) publishing
a book where the exclusive right of publication belongs to
another;
(4) reproducing and publishing a
sound recording or video recording of a performance without
the consent of the performer;
(5) reproducing
and distributing a sound recording or video recording
produced by another, without the consent of the producer;
(6) reproducing and distributing a radio or
television program produced by a radio station or television
station without the consent of the radio station or
television station;
(7) producing or selling a
work of fine art where the signature of an artist is
counterfeited.
Article 47. A party who fails
to fulfill his contractual obligations, or executes them in
a manner that is not in conformity with the agreed
conditions of the contract, shall bear civil liability in
accordance with the relevant provisions of the General
Principles of the Civil Law.
Article 48. A
dispute over copyright infringement may be settled by
mediation. If mediation is unsuccessful, or if one of the
parties fails to carry out an agreement reached by
mediation, proceedings may be instituted in a people's
court. Proceedings may also be instituted directly in a
people's court if the parties do not wish to settle the
dispute by mediation.
Article 49. A dispute
over a copyright contract may be settled by mediation. It
may also be submitted for arbitration to a copyright
arbitration body under the arbitration clause in the
contract, or under a written arbitration agreement concluded
after the contract has been signed.
The
parties shall implement the arbitration award. If one of the
parties fails to implement the award, the other party may
apply to a people's court for enforcement.
If
the people's court that has been requested to enforce an
arbitration award finds the award unlawful, it shall have
the right to refuse the enforcement. If a people's court
refuses to enforce an arbitration award, the parties may
institute proceedings concerning the contractual dispute in
a people's court .
Any party may institute
proceedings directly in a people's court in the absence of
an arbitration clause in the contract or in the absence of a
written arbitration agreement concluded after the contract
has been signed.
Article 50. Any party who
objects to an administrative penalty may institute
proceedings in a people's court within three months of
having received the written decision on the penalty. If a
party neither institutes proceedings nor implements the
decision within the above time limit, the copyright
administration department concerned may apply to a people's
court for enforcement.
CHAPTER
VI
Supplementary
Provisions
Article 51. For the purposes of this
Law, the terms "zhuzuoquan*" and
"banquan*" are synonymous.
*
Zhuzuoquan corresponds to "author's right," but
literally translated means "right in a work";
banquan is the literal translation of "copyright."
This Article has been included in the Law as both
expressions are used in Chinese.
Article 52.
The term "reproduction" as used in this Law shall
mean 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 recording,
or duplicating a photographic work, or by other means.
The term "reproduction" as used in
this Law shall not cover the construction or the manufacture
of industrial products on the basis of drawings of
engineering designs and product designs, and descriptions
thereof.
Article 53. Regulations for the
protection of computer software shall be established
separately by the State Council.
Article 54.
The implementing regulations of this Law shall be drawn up
by the copyright administration department under the State
Council and implemented on approval by the State Council.
Article 55. The rights of copyright owners,
publishers, performers, producers of sound recordings and
video recordings, radio stations and television stations as
provided for 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 of
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 act was committed.
Article 56. This Law shall enter into force on
June 1, 1991.
(In case of discrepancy, the
original version in Chinese shall prevail.)
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