Copyright Law, the second amendment (2010.4.1)
Order of the President of the People’s Republic of China
No. 26
The Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Amending the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China, adopted at the 13th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress on February 26, 2010, is hereby promulgated and shall go into effect as of April 1, 2010.
Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
February 26, 2010
(Adopted at the 15th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People’s Congress on September 7, 1990; amended for the first time according to the Decision on Amending the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China at the 24th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s Congress on October 27, 2001; and amended for the second time according to the Decision on Amending the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China at the 13th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress on February 26, 2010)
Table of Contents
Section 1 Copyright Owners and Their Rights
Section 2 Ownership of Copyright
Section 3 Term of Protection for the Rights
Section 4 Limitations on Rights
Chapter III Copyright Licensing and Transfer Contracts
Chapter IV Publication, Performance, Sound Recording, Video Recording and Broadcasting
Section 1 Publication of Books, Newspapers and Periodicals
Section 3 Sound Recording and Video Recording
Section 4 Broadcasting by a Radio Station or Television Station
Chapter V Legal Liabilities and Enforcement Measures
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted, in accordance with the Constitution, for the purpose of protecting the copyright of authors in their literary, artistic and scientific works and the rights and interests related to copyright, encouraging the creation and dissemination of works conducive to the building of a socialist society that is advanced ethically and materially, and promoting the progress and flourishing of socialist culture and sciences.
Article 2 Chinese citizens, legal entities or other organizations shall, in accordance with this Law, enjoy the copyright in their works, whether published or not.
The copyright enjoyed by foreigners or stateless persons in any of their works under an agreement concluded between China and the country to which they belong or in which they have their habitual residences, or under an international treaty to which both countries are parties, shall be protected by this Law.
Foreigners and stateless persons whose works are first published in the territory of China shall enjoy the copyright in accordance with this Law.
Any work of an author of a country that has not concluded any agreement with China or that is not a party to any international treaty to which China is a party and any work of a stateless person, which is first published in a member country of an international treaty to which China is a party, or simultaneously published in a member country of the treaty and in a non-member country, shall be protected by this Law.
Article 3 For purposes of this Law, the term “works” includes, among other things, works of literature, art, natural sciences, social sciences, engineering and technology, which are created in any of the following forms:
(1) written works;
(2) oral works;
(3) musical, dramatic, quyi, choreographic and acrobatic works;
(4) works of the fine arts and architecture;
(5) photographic works;
(6) cinematographic works and works created by a process analogous to cinematography;
(7) graphic works such as drawings of engineering designs and product designs, maps and
sketches, and model works;
(8) computer software; and
(9) other works as provided for in laws and administrative regulations.
Article 4 Copyright holders shall not violate the Constitution or laws or jeopardize public interests when exercising their copyright. The State shall supervise and administrate the publication and dissemination of works in accordance with the law.
Article 5 This Law shall not be applicable to:
(1) laws and 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 and forms of general use, and formulas.
Article 6 Measures for the protection of copyright in works of folk literature and art shall be formulated separately by the State Council.
Article 7 The administrative department for copyright under the State Council shall be responsible for the administration of copyright nationwide. The administrative departments for copyright under the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for the administration of copyright in their respective administrative regions.
Article 8 Copyright owners or owners of the rights related to the copyright may authorize collective copyright administration organizations to exercise their copyright or rights related to the copyright. Upon authorization, a collective copyright administration organization may exercise the copyright or the rights related to the copyright in its own name for the copyright owner or the owner of the rights related to the copyright and participate as a party in legal or arbitration proceedings concerning the copyright or the rights related to the copyright.
Collective copyright administration organizations are non-profit organizations, and regulations concerning the way of their establishment, their rights and obligations, their collection and distribution of copyright licensing fees, and their supervision and administration shall be formulated separately by the State Council.
Section 1 Copyright Owners and Their Rights
Article 9 Copyright owners include:
(1) authors; and
(2) other citizens, legal entities and other organizations enjoying the copyright in accordance with this Law.
Article 10 Copyright includes the following personal 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 in respect of, and to have the author’s name mentioned in connection with, a work;
(3) the right of revision, that is, the right to revise or authorize others to revise a work;
(4) the right of integrity, that is, the right to protect a work against distortion and mutilation;
(5) the right of reproduction, that is, the right to produce one or more copies of a work by printing, photocopying, lithographing, making a sound recording or video recording, duplicating a recording, or duplicating a photographic work, or by other means;
(6) the right of distribution, that is, the right to provide the original copy or reproductions of a work to the public by selling or donating;
(7) the right of rental, that is, the right to authorize others to use temporarily a cinematographic work or a work created by a process analogous to cinematography, or computer software, except where the software itself is not the essential object of the rental;
(8) the right of exhibition, that is, the right to publicly display the original copy or reproductions of a work of the fine arts or of a photographic work;
(9) the right of performance, that is, the right to publicly perform a work, and to publicly communicate the performance of a work by any means or process;
(10) the right of presentation, that is, the right to publicly present a work of the fine arts, a photographic work, a cinematographic work, a work created by a process analogous to cinematography, or other works, by projector, slide projector or any other technology or instrument;
(11) the right of broadcasting, that is, the right to broadcast a work or disseminate it to the public by any wireless means, to communicate the broadcast of a work to the public by wire or by rebroadcasting, and to publicly communicate the broadcast of a work by loudspeaker or any other analogous instrument transmitting signs, sounds or images;
(12) the right of communication through information network, that is, the right to make a work available to the public by wire or by wireless means, so that people may have access to the work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;
(13) the right of cinematography, that is, the right to fix an adaptation of a work in a medium by cinematography or a process analogous to cinematography;
(14) the right of adaptation, that is, the right to change a work into a new one with originality;
(15) the right of translation, that is, the right to change the language in which the work is written into another language;
(16) the right of compilation, that is, the right to compile by selection or arrangement preexisting works or passages therefrom into a new work; and
(17) other rights to be enjoyed by copyright owners.
Copyright owners may authorize others’ exercising of the rights provided for in Subparagraph (5) through Subparagraph (17) of the preceding paragraph and receive remuneration in accordance with the terms of contracts or the relevant provisions in this Law.
Copyright owners may transfer, wholly or in part, the rights provided for in Subparagraph (5) through Subparagraph (17) of the first paragraph in this Article and receive fees in accordance with the terms of contracts or the relevant provisions in this Law.
Section 2 Ownership of Copyright
Article 11 Except where otherwise provided for in this Law, the copyright in a work shall belong to its author.
The author of a work is the citizen who creates the work.
Where a work is created under the auspices and according to the intention of a legal entity or other organization, which bears responsibility for the work, the said legal entity or organization shall be deemed to be the author of the work.
The citizen, legal entity or other organization 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 does not prejudice the copyright in the preexisting work.
Article 13 Where a work is created jointly by two or more authors, the copyright in the work shall be enjoyed jointly by the co-authors. No co-authorship may be claimed by anyone who has not participated in the creation of the work.
Where a work of joint authorship can be separated into parts and exploited separately, each co-author may be entitled to independent copyright in the part that he creates, provided that the exercise of such copyright does not prejudice the copyright in the joint work as a whole.
Article 14 A collection of preexisting works or passages therefrom, or of data or other material which does not constitute a work, if manifesting the originality of a work by reason of the selection or arrangement of its contents, is a compilation. The copyright in such compilation shall be enjoyed by the compiler, provided that the exercise of such copyright does not prejudice the copyright in the preexisting works.
Article 15 The copyright in a cinematographic work or in a work created by a process analogous to cinematography shall be enjoyed by the producer of the work, while its scriptwriter, director, cameraman, lyricist, composer and other authors shall enjoy the right of authorship therein and shall be entitled to receive remuneration in accordance with the terms of the contracts concluded between them and the producer.
The authors of the script, the musical works and the other works which are included in a cinematographic work or in a work created by a process analogous to cinematography and which 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 other organization is a work created in the course of employment. Subject to the provisions of the second paragraph of this Article, the copyright in such work shall be enjoyed by the author; however, the legal entity or other organization shall have priority to exploit the work within the scope of its professional activities. Within two years after the completion of the work, the author may not, without the consent of the legal entity or other organization, authorize the exploitation of the work by a third party in the same manner as the legal entity or other organization exploits the work.
In any of 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 other organization shall enjoy the other rights included in the copyright and may reward the author:
(1) drawings of engineering designs and product designs, maps, computer software and other works which are created in the course of employment mainly with the material and technical resources of the legal entity or other organization and for which the legal entity or other organization bears responsibility;
(2) works created in the course of employment the copyright in which is, in accordance with laws, administrative regulations or contracts, enjoyed by the legal entity or other organization.
Article 17 The ownership of copyright in a commissioned work shall be agreed upon in a contract between the commissioning and the commissioned parties. In the absence of such 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 another work shall not be deemed to include the transfer of the copyright in such a work, however, 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 of a work belongs to a citizen, his rights in respect of the work as provided in Items (5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of article 10 of this Law shall, after his death, during the term of protection provided in this Law, be transferred in accordance with the Inheritance Law.
Where the copyright of a work belongs to a legal entity or another organization, its rights in respect of the work as provided in Items (5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of article 10 of this Law shall, after the change or the termination of the status of the legal entity or organization, during the term of protection provided in this Law, be enjoyed by the succeeding legal entity or organization which has taken over the rights and obligations of the previous legal entity or organization, or, in the absence of such succeeding legal entity or organization, by the State.
Article 20 The rights of authorship, alteration and integrity of an author shall be unlimited in time.
Article 21 In respect of a work of a citizen, the term of protection of the right of publication and of the rights provided in Items (5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of article 10 of this Law 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 and of the rights provided in Items (5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of article 10 of this Law where the copyright belongs to a legal entity or another organization, or in respect of a service work where the legal entity or organization 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 a work, however, any such work that has not been published within fifty years after the completion of its creation shall no longer be protected by this Law.
The term of protection of the right of publication and of the rights provided in Items (5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of article 10 of this Law in respect of a cinematographic work or a work created in a way similar to cinematography shall be fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first publication of such a work, however, any such work that has not been published within fifty years after the completion of its creation shall no longer be protected by this Law.
Section 4 Limitations on Rights
Article 22 In the following cases, a work may be exploited without the permission from, and without payment of remuneration to, the copyright owner, provided that the name of the author and the title of the work are mentioned and the other rights enjoyed by the copyright owner by virtue of this Law are not infringed upon:
(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 of, or comment on, a work, or demonstration of a point;
(3)inevitable reappearance or citation of a published work in newspapers, periodicals, radio stations, television stations or other media for the purpose of reporting current events;
(4)reprinting by newspapers or periodicals or other media, or rebroadcasting by radio stations or television stations or other media, of the current event article s on the issues of politics, economy and religion, which have been published by other newspapers, periodicals, radio stations or television stations or other media, except where the author has declared that publication or broadcasting is not permitted;
(5)publication in newspapers or periodicals or other media, or broadcasting by radio stations or television stations or other media, of a speech delivered at a public assembly, except where the author has declared that publication or broadcasting is not permitted;
(6)translation or reproduction, in a small quality 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 is not published or distributed;
(7)use of a published work by a State organ within the reasonable scope 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 purpose of the display or preservation of a copy of the work;
(9)free of charge performance of a published work, that is, with respect to the performance, neither fees are charged from the public nor the remuneration is paid to the performers;
(10)copying, drawing, photographing, or video recording of an artistic work located or on display in an outdoor public place;
(11)translation of a work published by a Chinese citizen, legal entity or organization, which is created in the Han language (Chinese), into a minority nationality language for publication and distribution within the country;
(12)translation of a published work into Braille and publication of the work so translated;
The provisions in the preceding paragraph shall be applicable to the limitations on the rights of publishers, performers, producers of sound recordings and video recordings, radio stations and television stations.
Article 23 Anyone who compiles or publishes textbooks for the purpose of implementing the nine-year compulsory education or State education planning may, without the permission from the copyright owner, except that the author has declared in advance that the exploitation is not permitted, compile published fragments of works, short written works or musical works, a single work of fine art, or photographic works into the textbooks, however, he shall pay the remuneration as provided, mention the name of the author and the title of the work, and shall not infringe upon other rights which the copyright owner shall enjoy in accordance with this Law.
The provisions in the preceding paragraph shall be applicable to the limitations on the rights of publishers, performers, producers of sound recordings and video recordings, radio stations and television stations.
Chapter III Contracts of Copyright Licensing and Contracts of Copyright Transfer
Aarticle 24 Anyone who exploits a work created by another shall conclude a contract of licensing with the copyright owner, unless it is provided in this Law that the exploitation need not be licensed.
A contract of licensing shall include the following main contents:
(1)the variety of the right to exploit 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 territorial scope and term of the license;
(4)the amount of the remuneration and the method of its payment;
(5)the breach liability;
(6)any other contents that both parties consider necessary.
Article 25 Anyone who transfers any of the rights provided in Items (5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of article 10 of this Law shall conclude a written contract with the transferee.
A contract of copyright transfer shall include the following main contents:
(1)the name of the work;
(2)the variety and territorial scope of the transferred right;
(3)the transfer price;
(4)the date and method of the delivery of the transfer price;
(5)the breach liability;
(6)any other contents that both parties consider necessary.
Article 26 In case of pledge of copyright, the pledger and the pledgee shall go through registration of the pledge with the copyright administration under the State Council.
Article 27 The licensee or the transferee shall not, without the consent of the copyright owner, exercise any right that the copyright owner has not expressly licensed or transferred in the contract.
Article 28 The standards of remuneration for the exploitation of a work may be either agreed upon by the parties concerned or be made by the copyright administration department under the State Council in collaboration with other departments concerned. Where the parties concerned fail to reach a clear agreement, the remuneration shall be paid in accordance with the standards of remuneration made by the copyright administration department under the State Council in collaboration with other departments concerned.
Article 29 Publishers, performers, producers of sound recordings and video recordings, radio stations, television stations and other entities who or which exploit the works of others pursuant to this Law shall not infringe upon the author's 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 30 A book publisher who publishes a book shall conclude a publishing contract with, and pay remuneration to, the copyright owner.
Article 31 With respect to a work delivered to a book publisher by the copyright owner for publication, the exclusive right to publish the work enjoyed by the book publisher as agreed upon in the contract shall be protected by law, and the work may not be published by others.
Article 32 The copyright owner shall deliver the work within the term agreed upon in the contract. The book publisher shall publish the work in accordance with the quality requirements and within the term agreed upon in the contract.
The book publisher shall bear the civil liability provided in article 53 of this Law if he fails to publish the work within the term agreed upon 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 33 Where a copyright owner has submitted the manuscript of his work to a newspaper or a periodical publisher for publication and has not received any notification of the said publisher's decision to publish the work, within fifteen days from the newspaper publisher or within thirty days from the periodical publisher, counted from the date of submission of the manuscript, 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 provided in regulations.
Article 34 A book publisher may alter or abridge a work with the permission from 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 35 When publishing works created by adaptation, translation, annotation, arrangement or compilation of pre-existing works, the publisher shall obtain permission from and pay remuneration to both the owners of the copyright in the works created by means of adaptation, translation, annotation, arrangement or compilation, and the owners of the copyright in the original work.
Article 36 A publisher shall be entitled to permit others to exploit the format design of a published book or periodical of his or prohibit others from doing so.
The term of protection of the right provided in the preceding paragraph shall be ten years, expiring on December 31 of the tenth year after the first publication of the book or periodical that uses such a format.
Article 37 A performer (an individual performer or a performing group) who for a performance exploits a work created by another shall obtain permission from and pay remuneration to the copyright owner. A performance organizer who organizes a performance shall obtain permission from and pay remuneration to the copyright owner.
A performer who for a performance exploits a work created by adaptation, translation, annotation or arrangement of a pre-existing work shall obtain permission from and pay remuneration to both the owner of the copyright in the work created by adaptation, translation, annotation or arrangement and the owner of the copyright in the original work.
Article 38 A performer shall, in relation to his performance, enjoy the rights:
(1)to show his/her identity;
(2)to protect the character in his performance from distortion;
(3)to authorize others to make live broadcasts or to publicly transmit his live performance, and to receive remuneration for it;
(4)to authorize others to make sound recordings and video recordings, and to receive remuneration for it.
(5)to permit others to reproduce and distribute the sound recordings or video recordings which record his performance, and to receive remuneration for it;
(6)to permit others to disseminate his performance to the public through information network, and to receive remuneration for it.
Anyone who is permitted to exploit the works in the ways provided in Items (3) through (6) of the preceding paragraph shall also obtain permission from and pay remuneration to the copyright owner.
Article 39 The term of protection of the rights provided in Items (1) and (2) of Paragraph 1 of article 37 of this Law shall not be limited.
The term of protection of the rights provided in Items (3) through (6) of Paragraph 1 of article 37 of this Law shall be fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the performance is made.
Section 3 Sound Recording and Video Recording
Article 40 A producer of sound recordings or video recordings who, for the production of a sound recording or 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 pre-existing work shall obtain permission from and pay remuneration to both the owner of the copyright in the work created by adaptation, translation, annotation or arrangement and the owner of copyright in the original work.
A producer of a sound recording who, for the production of a sound recording, exploits a musical work which has been lawfully recorded as a sound recording by another, does not need to obtain permission from, but shall, as provided in 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.
Article 41 When producing a sound recording or video recording, the producer shall conclude a contract with, and pay remuneration to, the performers.
Article 42 A producer of sound recordings or video recordings shall have the right to permit others to reproduce, distribute, lease and disseminate to the public through information network such sound recordings or video recordings and shall have the right to receive remuneration for it. The term of protection of such rights shall be fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the production of the recording is firstly completed.
A producer of sound recordings or video recordings who is permitted to reproduce, distribute, lease or disseminate to the public through information network a sound recording or video recording shall obtain permission from and also pay remuneration to both the copyright owner and the performer.
Section 4 Broadcasting by A Radio Station or Television Station
Article 43 A radio station or television station that broadcasts an unpublished work created by another shall obtain permission from and pay remuneration to the copyright owner.
A radio station or television station that broadcasts a published work created by another does not need to obtain permission from, but shall pay remuneration to the copyright owner.
Article 44 A radio station or television station that broadcasts a published sound recording does not need to obtain permission from, but shall pay remuneration to the copyright owner, unless the parties concerned have agreed otherwise. The specific measures shall be provided by the State Council.
Article 45 A radio station or television station is entitled to prohibit the following acts which it has not permitted:
(1)rebroadcasting the radio or television which it has broadcasted;
(2)recording the radio or television which it has broadcasted in the audio or video carrier and to reproduce the audio or video carrier.
The term of protection of the rights provided in the preceding paragraph shall be fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first broadcasting of the radio or television.
Article 46 A television station that broadcasts another's cinematographic work, work created in a way similar to cinematography or videographic work shall obtain permission from and pay remuneration to the producer. A television station that broadcasts another's videographic work shall also obtain permission from and pay remuneration to the copyright owner.
Chapter V Legal Liabilities and Law Enforcement Measures
Article 47 He who commits any of the following acts of infringement shall bear the 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 permission from the copyright owner;
(2)publishing a work of joint authorship as a work created solely by oneself, without the permission from the other co-authors;
(3)having his name mentioned in connection with a work created by another, in order to seek personal fame and gain, where he has not taken part in the creation of the work;
(4)distorting a work created by another;
(5)plagiarizing the works of others;
(6)exploiting a work by means of exhibition, making cinematographic productions or a means similar to making cinematographic productions, or by means of adaptation, translation, annotation, etc. without the permission from the copyright owner, unless otherwise provided in this Law;
(7)exploiting a work of another without paying the remuneration;
(8)without the permission from the copyright owner or obligee related to the copyright of a cinematographic work or a work created in a way similar to cinematography, computer software, sound recordings or video recordings, leasing his work or sound recordings or video recordings, except where otherwise provided in this Law;
(9)without the permission from a publisher, exploiting the format design of his published book or periodical;
(10)without the permission from the performer, broadcasting or publicly transmitting his live performance or recording his performance;
(11)committing other acts of infringement upon copyright and upon other rights related to copyright.
Article 48 He who commits any of the following acts of infringement shall bear the civil liability for such remedies as ceasing the infringements, eliminating the effects of the act, making a public apology or paying compensation for damages, depending on the circumstances; where he damages public interests at the same time, the copyright administration department may order him to cease the act of tort, may confiscate his illegal gains, confiscate and destroy the reproductions of infringement, and impose a fine on him; if the case is serious, the copyright administration department may also confiscate the materials, instruments and equipment, etc. mainly used to make the reproductions of infringement; where his act has constituted a crime, he shall be investigated for criminal liabilities in accordance with the law:
(1)without the permission from the copyright owner, reproducing, distributing, performing, projecting, broadcasting, compiling, disseminating to the public through information network his works, except where otherwise provided in this Law;
(2)publishing a book where the exclusive right of publication belongs to another;
(3)without the permission from a performer, reproducing, distributing the sound recordings or video recordings of his performance, or disseminating his performance to the public through information network, except where otherwise provided in this Law;
(4)without the permission from a producer of sound recordings and video recordings, reproducing, distributing, disseminating to the public through information network the sound recordings or video recordings produced by him, except where otherwise provided in this Law;
(5)without the permission, broadcasting or reproducing the radio or television, except where otherwise provided in this Law;
(6)without the permission from the copyright owner or obligee related to the copyright, intentionally avoiding or destroying the technical measures taken by the obligee on his works, sound recordings or video recordings, etc. to protect the copyright or the rights related to the copyright, except where otherwise provided in laws or administrative regulations;
(7)without the permission from the copyright owner or obligee related to the copyright, intentionally deleting or altering the electronic information on the management of the rights on the works, sound recordings or video recordings, except where otherwise provided in laws or administrative regulations;
(8)producing or selling a work where the signature of another is counterfeited.
Article 49 The infringer shall, when having infringed upon the copyright or the rights related to copyright, make a compensation on the basis of the obligee's actual losses; where the actual losses are difficult to be calculated, the compensation may be made on the basis of the infringer's illegal gains. The amount of compensation shall also include the reasonable expenses paid by the obligee for stopping the act of tort.
Where the obligee's actual losses or the infringer's illegal gains cannot be determined, the people's court shall, on the basis of the seriousness of the act of tort, adjudicate a compensation of 500,000 Yuan or less.
Article 50 Where a copyright owner or obligee related to copyright has evidence to prove that another is committing or is going to commit an act infringing upon his right, and that his lawful rights and interests will suffer the damage which is difficult to be remedied if he does not stop it in time, he may, before bringing a lawsuit, apply to the people's court for an order to cease the relevant acts or for property preservation.
The people's court shall handle the application in the preceding paragraph in accordance with article 93 through article 96 and article 99 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 51 For the purpose of stopping the acts of tort, a copyright owner or an obligee related to copyright may, under circumstances that the evidence may be destroyed or lost or difficult to obtain later on, apply to the people's court for the evidence to be preserved.
The people's court must, after receiving the application, make an order within 48 hours; if the preservation is granted by an order, its implementation shall start immediately.
The people's court may order the applicant to provide a surety; if the applicant fails to do so, his application shall be rejected.
If the applicant fails to bring a lawsuit within 15 days after the people's court has adopted the preservation measures, the people's court shall cancel the property preservation.
Article 52 The people's court may, when trying the cases of infringing upon copyright or the rights related to copyright, confiscate the illegal gains, the reproductions of infringement and the properties used for committing illegal acts.
Article 53 Where a publisher or producer of reproductions is unable to prove the lawful authorization of his publication or production, or the distributor of the reproductions or the lessor of the reproductions of a cinematographic work or a work created in a way similar to cinematography, computer software, sound recordings or video recordings is unable to prove the lawful sources of his distribution or lease of the reproductions, he shall bear the legal liabilities.
Article 54 Where a party concerned does not implement his contractual obligations or his implementation of the contractual obligations does not conform to the stipulated requirements, he shall bear the civil liabilities in accordance with the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws.
Article 55 A dispute over copyright may be settled by mediation or be submitted for arbitration to a copyright arbitration institution under a written arbitration agreement concluded between the parties concerned, or under the arbitration clause in the copyright contract.
Any party may bring a lawsuit directly to the people's court in the absence of a written arbitration agreement or an arbitration clause in the copyright contract.
Article 56 Any party who objects to an administrative penalty may bring a lawsuit to the people's court within three months as of the date when it received the written decision on the penalty. If a party neither bring a lawsuit nor implements the decision within the above time limit, the copyright administration department concerned may apply to the people's court for enforcement.
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Article 57 The term "author's right" shall have the same meaning as "copyright" in this Law.
Article 58 The term "publication" mentioned in article 2 of this Law shall refer to reproduction and distribution of works.
Article 59 Regulations for the protection of computer software and of the right of information network dissemination shall be established separately by the State Council.
Article 60 The rights of copyright owners, publishers, performers, producers of sound recordings and video recordings, radio stations and television stations as provided 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 upon 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 infringement was committed.
Article 61This Law shall enter into force on June 1, 1991.
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