(Adopted at the 1246th Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court on October 12, 2002; first amended in accordance with the Decision of the Supreme People’s Court on Amending the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Disputes over Infringement of Patent Rights (II) and Seventeen Other Judicial Interpretations on Intellectual Property, adopted at the 1823rd Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court on December 23, 2020; and amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision of the Supreme People’s Court on Amending the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Copyright Dispute Cases, adopted at the 1976th Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court on May 25, 2026. The second amendment will take effect on September 1, 2026.)
To properly adjudicate civil copyright dispute cases, and in accordance with the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China, the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China and other laws, the Supreme People’s Court hereby provides the following interpretation on several issues concerning the application of law:
Article 1 The People’s Courts shall accept the following civil copyright dispute cases:
(1) disputes over ownership, infringement or contracts concerning copyright and copyright-related rights and interests. Infringement disputes include disputes seeking a declaration of non-infringement of copyright or copyright-related rights and interests;
(2) cases involving applications, before an action is filed, for an order to stop acts infringing copyright or copyright-related rights and interests, or for property preservation or evidence preservation;
(3) disputes over liability for damages arising from an application, before or during litigation, for an order to stop acts infringing copyright or copyright-related rights and interests; and
(4) other disputes concerning copyright or copyright-related rights and interests.
Article 2 Where a copyright authority has investigated and dealt with an act of copyright infringement, and a party brings an action before a People’s Court to pursue the civil liability of the person who committed the act, the People’s Court shall accept the case.
When hearing a civil dispute involving an act of copyright infringement that has already been handled by a copyright authority, the People’s Court shall conduct a full review of the facts of the case.
Article 3 A civil action arising from copyright infringement shall be under the jurisdiction of the People’s Court at the place where an infringing act specified in Articles 52 or 53 of the Copyright Law is committed, the place where infringing copies are stored, sealed up or seized, or the place of the defendant’s domicile.
For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, the place where infringing copies are stored means a place where a large quantity of infringing copies is stored or concealed, or where infringing copies are regularly stored or concealed. The place where infringing copies are sealed up or seized means the place where customs, copyright or other administrative authorities lawfully seal up or seize such copies.
Article 4 Where a joint action is brought against multiple defendants whose infringing acts were committed in different places, the plaintiff may choose to bring the action before the People’s Court at the place where any one of the defendants committed the infringing act. Where an action is brought against only one of those defendants, the People’s Court at the place where that defendant committed the infringing act shall have jurisdiction.
Article 5 Where a copyright collective management organization established in accordance with law brings an action in its own name on the basis of written authorization from a copyright owner, the People’s Court shall accept the case.
Article 6 Draft manuscripts, originals, lawfully published copies, copyright registration certificates, certificates issued by certification or appraisal institutions, contracts under which rights were acquired, and other materials relating to copyright that are submitted by a party may be used as evidence.
Article 7 Physical items, invoices and other materials obtained when a party, either directly or through another person, purchases infringing copies by ordering them, conducting an on-site transaction or by similar means may be used as evidence.
Where a notary does not disclose their identity to the party suspected of infringement, and truthfully notarizes the evidence obtained by the other party in the manner described in the preceding paragraph and the process of obtaining that evidence, the resulting notarial certificate shall be admitted as evidence, unless there is evidence to the contrary.
Article 8 The term “making available to the public” in Article 10(1)(1) of the Copyright Law means making a work available to an unspecified group of persons. The actual awareness of the public is not a constituent element.
Article 9 For a work referred to in Article 17(3) of the Copyright Law, where the copyright owner is a natural person, the term of protection shall be governed by Article 23(1) of the Copyright Law. Where the copyright owner is a legal person or an unincorporated organization, the term of protection shall be governed by Article 23(2) of the Copyright Law.
Article 10 A dispute over the order in which authors are credited on a work shall be handled according to the following principles: where the parties have agreed on the order, the agreement shall apply; where there is no agreement, the order may be determined by considering the amount of work contributed to the creation, the arrangement of the work, the number of character strokes in the authors’ Chinese surnames, and other relevant factors.
Article 11 Except in the circumstances specified in Article 11(3) of the Copyright Law, where a report, speech or similar work is written by another person, but is reviewed and finalized by the person delivering the report or speech and is published in that person’s name, the copyright shall belong to the person who delivers the report or speech. The copyright owner may pay appropriate remuneration to the writer.
Article 12 For an autobiographical work created by agreement of the parties based on the life experiences of a specific person, any agreement on copyright ownership shall apply. If there is no such agreement, the copyright shall belong to that specific person. Where a writer or compiler has contributed work to completing the work, the copyright owner may pay that person appropriate remuneration.
Article 13 Where different authors create works on the same subject matter, and the expression in each work is independently created and original, each author shall be recognized as independently owning copyright in his or her own work.
Article 14 When disseminating purely factual news collected and edited by another person, the source shall be indicated.
Article 15 Where, under Article 19 of the Copyright Law, copyright in a commissioned work belongs to the commissioned party, the commissioning party has the right to use the work within the agreed scope of use. If the parties have not agreed on the scope of use, the commissioning party may use the work free of charge to the extent necessary for the specific purpose for which the work was commissioned.
Article 16 The “artistic works in public places” referred to in Article 24(1)(10) of the Copyright Law are sculptures, paintings, works of calligraphy and other artistic works installed or displayed in places open to public activities.
A person who copies by drawing, paints, photographs or makes a video recording of an artistic work described in the preceding paragraph may, in accordance with law, further use the resulting material in a reasonable manner and within a reasonable scope. However, without the copyright owner’s permission, that person may not install, display or publicly disseminate it in the same manner as the original artistic work.
Article 17 “Reprinting” as provided in Article 35(2) of the Copyright Law means the publication, in a printed newspaper or periodical approved for publication by the competent authority, or in a digital version with the same content and layout, of a work previously published in another newspaper or periodical. If the reprinting does not identify the author of the reprinted work and the newspaper or periodical in which it was first published, the party responsible shall bear civil liability, including eliminating the adverse effects and making an apology.
The preceding paragraph does not apply to the reprinting of published works between newspapers or periodicals and internet information service providers, or among internet information service providers. Such reprinting requires the copyright owner’s permission and payment of remuneration.
Article 18 Where a publication infringes another person’s copyright, the publisher shall bear civil liability according to its fault, the seriousness of the infringement, the resulting harm and other relevant circumstances.
Where a publisher fails to exercise a reasonable duty of care with respect to authorization for the publication, the source and attribution of the manuscript, the content of the publication it edits, or other relevant matters, it shall bear civil liability in accordance with Article 52 of the Copyright Law.
The publisher bears the burden of proving that it exercised the required reasonable duty of care.
Article 19 A user of computer software who uses the software for commercial purposes without permission or beyond the scope of permission shall bear civil liability in accordance with Article 53(1) of the Copyright Law and Article 24(1)(1) of the Regulations on Computer Software Protection.
Article 20 Where a copyright assignment contract is not made in writing, the People’s Court shall determine whether the contract has been formed in accordance with Article 490 of the Civil Code.
Article 21 Where a publisher loses or damages a work delivered by the copyright owner for publication, making it impossible to perform the publishing contract, the copyright owner may require the publisher to bear the corresponding civil liability in accordance with Articles 186, 238 and 1184 of the Civil Code and other relevant provisions.
Article 22 The right holder’s actual loss may be calculated by multiplying either the reduction in the number of copies distributed by the right holder as a result of the infringement, or the sales volume of the infringing copies, by the right holder’s unit profit from distributing such copies.
Where the reduction in distribution volume is difficult to determine, it shall be determined by reference to the market sales volume of the infringing copies.
Article 23 Where it is difficult to calculate the right holder’s actual loss, the infringer’s unlawful gains or a reasonable royalty, the People’s Court shall determine the amount of damages under Article 54(2) of the Copyright Law, either upon a party’s request or on its own initiative.
When determining the amount of damages, the People’s Court shall consider the type of work, the degree of fault of the alleged infringer, the nature and consequences of the infringement, and other relevant circumstances.
Where the parties reach an agreement on the amount of damages in accordance with the first paragraph of this Article, the People’s Court shall allow the agreement.
Article 24 The reasonable expenses paid to stop an infringing act, as provided in Article 54(3) of the Copyright Law, include reasonable expenses incurred by the right holder or its authorized agent in investigating the infringement, collecting evidence and carrying out similar activities.
Based on the party’s claims and the specific circumstances of the case, the People’s Court may include attorneys’ fees that comply with the relevant provisions of the competent state authorities within the scope of damages.
Article 25 The limitation period for an action for copyright infringement is three years, calculated from the date when the copyright owner knew or should have known that its rights had been harmed and knew or should have known the identity of the person liable. If the right holder files the action after the three-year period and the infringement is still continuing when the action is filed, the People’s Court shall, within the term of copyright protection, order the defendant to stop the infringement. Damages for infringement shall be calculated for the three-year period preceding the date on which the right holder filed the action with the People’s Court.
Article 26 Where a People’s Court takes preservation measures, it shall do so in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law and the Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Reviewing Cases Involving Act Preservation in Intellectual Property Disputes.
Article 27 In a civil copyright dispute case accepted by a People’s Court, legal facts that occurred after an amendment to the Copyright Law shall be governed by the amended Copyright Law. Legal facts that occurred before the amendment shall be governed by the Copyright Law in force before the amendment, unless otherwise provided by law or judicial interpretation. Legal facts that occurred before the amendment and continued after the amendment shall be governed by the amended Copyright Law, unless otherwise provided by law or judicial interpretation.
Article 28 Where any previous relevant provision is inconsistent with this Interpretation, this Interpretation shall prevail.
