China's Copyright Law

The Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China was adopted on September 7, 1990, and became effective the following June.

The Rules for the Implementation of the Copyright Law took effect on May 30, 1991.

To change with the times, the National People's Congress approved the Amendment to China's Copyright Law on October 27, 2001, to take effect immediately.

And the amended Rules for the Implementation of the Copyright Law were adopted by the State Council in August 2002.

The amended Copyright Law contains revisions and additional provisions to bring the Law into closer conformity with Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights (TRIPs) and the Berne Convention.

China is a signatory of the World Trade Organization, Berne Convention, Copyright Treaty, Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Copyright of any entity of another member country will be protected in China.

Works Protected

1. Written works;

2. Oral works;

3. Musical, dramatic, quyi (traditonal forms of opera and entertainment), choreographic and acrobatic works;

4. Artistic and architectural works;

5. Cinematographic works, and works created by similar means;

6. Graphic works and models related to engineering designs, product designs, maps;

7. Computer software;

8. Other works specified by laws and regulations.

Exclusive rights retained by copyright owners

1. Right of publication;

2. Right of authorship;

3. Right of alteration;

4. Right of integrity;

5. Right of reproduction;

6. Right of publishing;

7. Right of leasing;

8. Right of exhibition;

9. Right of live performance;

10. Right of broadcast;

11. Right of distribution over an information network;

12. Right of communication in an information network;

13. Right of cinematographic mediums, television or video production;

14. Right of adaptation;

15. Right of translation;

16. Right of compilation and annotation.

Criminal Penalties

The Criminal Law provides various types of criminal penalties for copyright infringement.

(China Daily 10/11/2004 page5)