Initiatives in Online Copyright Enforcement

Recently, there have been an increasing number of cases involving the protection of intellectual property on the internet. Works created and distributed on the internet are currently not covered under the existing Copyright Law. The PRC Supreme People's Court has recently issued new judicial interpretations to counteract this shortcoming.

Commentators have repeatedly questioned the sufficiency of the current legal protection for copyright in China afforded under the PRC Copyright Law  (中华人民共和国著作权法) promulgated in 1990 (the Copyright Law) and the PRC Copyright Law Implementation Regulations promulgated in 1991 (the Implementation Rules). Concerns have been heightened in recent years as a result of the rapid changes in the information technology area. The Copyright Law and the related Implementation Rules provide no clear answer to the legal issues emerging in connection with the expansion of the digital media and information through the internet. Although many court judgments have interpreted the Copyright Law in favor of copyright owners,¹ these decisions have no authority as precedents under Chinese law and by no means set forth a uniform standard or guidance for any subsequent court trials.

To cope with the increasing number of copyright infringement disputes in connection with the use of the internet, the State Council has proposed to amend the Copyright Law to extend the legal protection afforded under the Copyright Law to the internet.² While these proposed amendments remain under review by the People's Congress, the Supreme People's Court issued Several Issues Concerning the Laws Applicable to the Trial of Copyright Disputes Involving Computer Networks Interpretations  (关于审理涉及计算机网络著作权纠纷案件适用法律若干问题的解释) (the Interpretations). The Interpretations were issued on December 19 2000 and became effective on December 21 2000. By issuing the Interpretations, the Supreme People's Court seeks to extend copyright protection to works created and distributed on the internet and to resolve jurisdictional disputes among the Chinese courts hearing copyright infringement cases. Most notably, the Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court impose extensive obligations on Internet service providers (ISPs) and Internet content providers (ICPs) for purposes of copyright protection.

Digital Form of Works

Article 2 of the Copyright Law provides that copyright is afforded to the works of Chinese citizens, legal persons or non-legal person organizations. Article 3 of the Copyright Law defines the term works as "works of literature, art, natural science, social science, engineering and technology created in any of the following forms:

(a) written works;

(b) oral works;

(c) musical, dramatic, folk art and choreographic works;

(e) works of fine art and photographic works;

(f) motion pictures, television and other audio- visual works;

(g) engineering designs and product designs including accompanying drawings and word explanations;

(h) maps, schematic diagrams and other graphic works;

(i) computer software; and other works as provided for in laws, administrative rules and regulations."