(Promulgated by the State Council on September 15, 2002)
Article 1 Pursuant to the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Copyright Law"), this Regulation is hereby enacted.
Article 2
"Works" in the Copyright Law means intellectual results which have the nature of originality and can be reproduced in a tangible form in the fields of literature, arts and sciences.
Article 3 "Creation" in the Copyright Law means the intellectual activity which directly produces literary, artistic or scientific works.
Providing organizational work, consultation and opinions, materials support or other assisting activities to others in their creation shall not be considered as creation.
Article 4 In the Copyright Law and this Regulation,
1. literary works mean novels, poetry, proses, theses and other works, which are expressed in a written form;
2. oral works mean extemporaneous speeches, lectures, court debates and other works, which are created in spoken language and are not fixed on any material media;
3. musical works mean songs, symphonies and other works, with or without words, which can be sung or performed;
4. dramatic works mean drama, opera, local operas and other works, which are for the purpose of stage performance;
5. quyi works mean xiangsheng (comedy dialogue), kuanshu (rhythmic talk accompanied with bamboo or copper clappers), dagu (ballad sung to the accompaniment of a drum), pingshu (story telling) and other works, which are mainly performed by singing and reciting;
6. choreographic works mean the works which are expressed or performed in progressive body movements, gestures and facial expressions and express thoughts and feelings;
7. acrobatic artistic works mean acrobatics, magic, and circus acts and works that are expressed through the gestures and skills of the human body.
8. artistic works mean paintings, calligraphic works, sculptures, architectural works and other works, which compose planar or three-dimensional form by using lines, colors or other methods, and which have aesthetic significance;
9. construction works mean works of aesthetic value expressed in the form of buildings or structures.
10. photographic works mean such artistic works which, with the aid of devices, record the physical appearance of objects on light-sensitive materials;
11. Cinematographic works and works created by the analogous method of film production mean such works which are recorded on a certain media, are composed of a series of images with or without sound tracks, and are projected or broadcast with the aid of suitable devices;
12. Graphic works mean works of engineering designs and product designs made for the purpose of construction and production as well as maps, sketches and other works reflecting a geographic phenomenon and illustrating the essence of an object.
13. Model works mean three-dimensional works made according to a ratio and to the shape and structure of an object, for the purpose of exhibition, test and observation.
Article 5
In the Copyright Law and this Regulation,
1. news of current events mean the coverage of facts and reporting by such media as newspapers, periodicals, radio or television stations;
2. sound recordings mean the recorded products of the sounds of a performance and other sounds;
3. video recordings mean the originally recorded products of continuing and related images other than those cinematographic works and works created by virtue of the analogous method of film production, with or without sound tracks;
4. sound recording producers mean the persons who first make the sound recordings;
5. video recording producers mean the persons who first make the video recordings; and
6. performers mean the entertainers, performing units or other persons who perform the literary and artistic works.
Article 6
The copyright subsists on the date of the completion of a work.
Article 7
The copyright of "works of foreigners and stateless persons first published in the territory of China" in Paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Copyright Law shall enjoy protection from the date it is first published.
Article 8
Works of foreigners and stateless persons first published outside China is considered a work simultaneously published in China if it is published in China within 30 days of its first publication outside China.
Article 9
Where a joint work cannot be separately exploited, the copyright of the work shall be enjoyed and exercised by all the co-authors through consultation; and where the co-authors fail to reach a consensus over the exercise of the copyright through consultation, any contributor may not obstruct, without reasonable grounds, the other contributors from exercising any rights other than the licensing rights in the said work. However, the income incurred thereof shall be reasonably distributed among all the co-authors.
Article 10
Where a copyright owner authorizes others to make his or her work into a cinematographic work or a work created by virtue of the analogous method of film production, it shall be considered that the said owner allows necessary alternation on his or her work, but such alternation may not distort or mutilate the original work.
Article 11
"Tasks" provided in Paragraph 1 of Article 16 in the Copyright Law regarding works produced in the course of employment mean the duties that citizens are obliged to carry out for legal persons or other organizations.
"The material and technical resources" provided in Paragraph 1 of Article 16 regarding works produced in the course of employment mean the funds, equipment and documents provided to citizens by legal persons or other organizations specially for the fulfillment of the creative work.
Article 12
Within two years of completing the work and in accordance with the proportion agreed upon, the author and his or her unit shall divide the receipts thus obtained when the author, upon approval by his or her unit, allows a third party to use his or her work in the same manner of exploitation by the unit.
Article 13
In regard to a work of which the author could not be identified, the legal holder of the original copy of the work shall exercise the copyright other than the authorship right. After the author is identified, the author or his or her heir shall exercise the copyright in the said work.
Article 14
Where the author in a joint work as provided in Paragraph 1 (5) and (17) of Article 10 of the Copyright Law does not have a successor or a beneficiary endowed by the will after his or her death, their co-author rights shall be enjoyed by the other co-authors.
Article 15
The heir or other bequeathed beneficiary of an author shall, after the author dies, protect the rights of authorship, protect the integrity and save the works from alteration.
The administrative management department of the Copyright Authority shall protect the rights of authorship and integrity, and prevent the alternation in the copyright of works which there is no heir and other bequeathed beneficiary.
Article 16
The administrative management department of the Copyright Authority shall exercise the copyright that is enjoyed by the State.
Article 17
The publishing right in an unpublished work, which the author fails expressly to state is not to be published may, within 50 years after the death of the author, be exercised by the author's heir or other bequeathed beneficiary. If there is no heir or other bequeathed beneficiary to the work, the said right shall be exercised by the owner of the original copy of the said work.
Article 18
The term of protection for the rights in a work of which the author is unidentified is 50 years, as provided in Paragraph 1 (5) and (17) of Article 10 of the Copyright Law. This terms of protection ends on December 31 of the 50th year from the first publication of the work. If the identity of the author is known, the provisions of Article 21 of the Copyright Law shall apply.
Article 19
The name of the author and the name of his or her work shall be identified when his or her work is exploited by others, except when the parties have agreed otherwise or when there is no way to make the identification due to the special property of the exploitation method.
Article 20
Published works as provided by the Copyright Law mean works made available to the public by the copyright owner or to others authorized by the copyright owner.
Article 21
Whoever exploits the published work of others without the authorization of the copyright owner, pursuant to the Copyright Law, may not preclude the normal exploitation of the work and infringe the lawful rights and interests of the copyright owner of the work.
Article 22
The penalty for the exploitation of works provided in Article 23, Paragraph 2 of Article 32 and Paragraph of Article 39 of the Copyright Law shall be decided and promulgated by the administrative management department of the Copyright Authority of the State Council together with the price management department of the State Council.
Article 23
Those wishing to exploit the works shall enter into a license agreement with the copyright owner. If the licensed rights are exclusive exploitation rights, a written contract shall be entered, except when the works are published by newspapers or periodicals.
Article 24
The nature of the "exclusive right of use" provided in article 24 of the Copyright Law shall be defined within the license agreement. Where the license rights are not defined or not explicitly defined, a user who has obtained a particular exclusive right of use is entitled to prevent anyone else to use the work in the same manner, including the copyright owner; and if the user permits a third party to exercise the same right, he must obtain consent from the owner of copyright, except as otherwise agreed upon by the license agreement.
Article 25
The exclusive license agreement and any assignment agreement entered with the copyright owner may be filed with the Copyright Authorities.
Article 26
"Copyright-related rights" in the Copyright Law and this Regulation means the right enjoyed by the publishers over the format design of the books, newspapers and periodicals they published; the rights enjoyed by the performers over their performances; the rights enjoyed by the sound or video recording producers over their sound or video recordings they have made; and the rights enjoyed by radio or television stations over the radio or television programs they have produced.
Article 27
Publishers, performers, sound and video recording producers, radio and television stations, when exercising their rights, may not harm the copyright owners rights in the works used and in the original works.
Article 28
Where, pursuant to an agreement, the exclusive publishing right is granted to a publisher without specifying the content of the right, the publisher shall be regarded as having the right to publish the book in the same manner as the original edition, revised edition or abridged version in the same language within the term and geographic area agreed upon.
Article 29
If the copyright owner makes two consecutive purchase orders for the works and the publisher fails to fill the purchase orders within six months, it will be considered "the stocks of the book are exhausted" as in Article 31 of the Copyright Law.
Article 30
Pursuant to Paragraph 2 of Article 32 of the Copyright Law, a copyright owner who declares that any reprinting or excerpting is not allowed, shall attach the declaration to the said work when it is first published in a newspaper or periodical.
Article 31
To declare that the production of sound recording products of a copyright owners work is not permitted pursuant to paragraph 3 of Article 39 of the Copyright Law, the copyright owner shall make a statement to this effect at the same time when the sound-recording products of the work are legitimately produced.
Article 32
Pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 32 and paragraph 3 of Article 39 of the Copyright Law, whoever uses a work belonging to another shall make payment to the owner of the copyright work within 2 month of the work being used.
Article 33
The Copyright Law protects performances given by foreigners and stateless persons in China.
The international treaties ratified by China shall protect the rights enjoyed by foreigners and stateless persons in accordance with the Copyright Law.
Article 34
The Copyright Law protects sound recordings made and distributed by foreigners and stateless persons within China.
The international treaties ratified by China shall protect sound recordings made and distributed by foreigners and stateless persons in accordance with the Copyright Law.
Article 35
The rights enjoyed by foreign radio and television organizations in their broadcasts pursuit to the international treaties to which China has acceded shall be protected under the Copyright Law.
Article 36
The acts of infringement listed in Article 47 of the Copyright Law, which have at the same time caused damage to the social and public interest, the administrative management department of the Copyright Authority shall impose a fine not exceeding three times the amount of the illegal business gains, or a maximum fine of RMB 100,000 when it is difficult calculate the amount of the illegal business gains.
Article 37
The administrative departments of the local people's governments Copyright Authority are responsible for investigating and disposing of the copyright infringing acts listed in Article 47 of the Copyright Law, which have at the same time caused damage to the social and public interest.
The administrative department of the Copyright Authority under the authority of the State Council is responsible for investigating and prosecuting copyright infringing acts of national significance and importance.
Article 38
This Regulation shall enter into force on September 15, 2002. The Regulation for Implementation of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China approved by the State Council on May 24, 1991 and promulgated by the State Administration of Copyright on May 30, 1991 shall be repealed on the same date.
