PRC Copyright Law (Revised)

Promulgated: October 27 2001
Effective: as of date of promulgation

Main contents: Article 8 in Part One on general provisions gives a copyright holder the right to assign management of the copyright to a copyright management association that can act in its own name on behalf of the copyright holder.
In Part Two on copyrights, 12 additional rights have been added in Article 10 to the list of exclusive rights of copyright holders, including exclusive right to copy, publish, rent, perform and alter a given work. These rights can be exercised by others with permission.
In Part Three on licence and transfer contracts, Article 25 states that transfer of rights mentioned in Items 5 to 17 of Article 10 requires the conclusion of a written contract. The 10 year cap on the term of a licensing contract (formerly contained in Article 26) has been removed. Article 27 of the revised version states that terms of payment for copyright usage can be set in a contract or can follow State Council payment guidelines. A publisher has the right to disallow others from employing the design of one of its publications (Article 35).
Part Four deals with publishing, performance, recording and broadcasting. Article 37 (formerly Article 36) strengthens the rights of a performer over recorded copies of a performance. Copyright duration over performances is set at 50 years (Article 38). Article 39 (formerly Article 37) now states that recording "works of others" requires permission, where this requirement was previously limited to "unpublished works". Article 42 (formerly Article 40) states that television and radio stations must obtain permission to broadcast unpublished works of others. They do not need permission to broadcast published works, but they must pay for their use. The need to obtain copyright holder permission to broadcast a motion picture has been extended to include other types of videotaped products (Article 45, formerly Article 44).
Article 47 (formerly Article 46) has been revised to grant the copyright administrative department the power to confiscate and destroy infringing reproductions or, in serious cases, to confiscate or destroy the material and machinery used to make the infringing reproductions. It also grants the copyright administrative department the power to initiate criminal prosecution. Article 48 deals with compensation for copyright infringement. Compensation is based on the losses of the holder or the gains of the infringing party. It can also be set by the court. It is now possible, when one has proof that a copyright infringement is being or about to be carried out and will cause irreparable damage, to submit an application to the court for a cease-and-desist order (Article 49). Distributors will be liable if they are unable to prove their authority to distribute the works concerned (Article 52).