COPYRIGHT LAW OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA [*1]

(Adopted at the 15th Meeting of  the  Standing  Committee  of  the

Seventh National People's Congress on September 7,  1990,  promulgated  by

Order No. 31 of the  President  of  the  People's  Republic  of  China  on

September 7, 1990, and effective as of June 1, 1991)

          Contents

Chapter I     General Provisions

Chapter II    Copyright

              Section 1 Copyright Owners and Their Rights

              Section 2 Ownership of Copyright

              Section 3 Term of Protection of Rights

              Section 4 Limitations on Rights

Chapter III   Copyright Licensing Contracts

Chapter IV    Publication, Performance, Sound Recording, Video Recording

              and Broadcasting

              Section 1 Publication of Books, Newspapers and Periodicals

              Section 2 Performance

              Section 3 Sound Recording and Video Recording

              Section 4 Broadcasting by Radio Station or Television

              Station

Chapter V     Legal Liability

Chapter VI    Supplementary Provisions

          Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1

This Law is enacted, in accordance with the Constitution for the  purposes

of protecting the copyright of authors in  their  literary,  artistic  and

scientific works  and  rights  and  interests  related  to  copyright,  of

encouraging the creation and dissemination of works which would contribute

to the building of an advanced  socialist  culture  and  ideology  and  to

socialist material development,  and  of  promoting  the  development  and

flourishing of socialist culture and sciences.

Article 2

Works of  Chinese  citizens,  legal  persons  or  entities  without  legal

personality, whether published or not, shall enjoy copyright in accordance

with this Law.  Works of foreigners first published in  the  territory  of

the People's Republic of China shall enjoy copyright  in  accordance  with

this Law.

Any work of a foreigner published outside the territory  of  the  People's

Republic of China which is eligible to enjoy copyright under an  agreement

concluded between the country to which the foreigner belongs and China, or

under an international treaty to which both countries are  parties,  shall

be protected in accordance with this Law.

Article 3

For  the  purpose  of  this  Law,  the  term  "works"  includes  works  of

literature, art, natural science, social science,  engineering  technology

and the like which are created in the following forms:

(1) written works;

(2) oral works;

(3) musical, dramatic, quyi and choreographic works;

(4) Works of fine art and photographic works;

(5) cinematographic, television and video-graphic works;

(6) drawings of engineering designs and product designs, and  descriptions

thereof;

(7) maps, sketches and other graphic works;

(8) computer software;

(9) other works as provided  for  in  law  and  administrative  rules  and

regulations.

Article 4

Works the publication or distribution of which is prohibited by law  shall

not be protected by this law.

Copyright owners, in exercising their copyright,  shall  not  violate  the

Constitution or laws or prejudice the public interests.

Article 5

This law shall not be applicable to:

(1) laws; regulations; resolutions, decisions and orders of state organs;

other documents of legislative, administrative and  judicial  nature;  and

their official translations;

(2) news on current affairs; and

(3) calendars, numerical tables, forms of general use and formulas.

Article 6

Measures for the protection of copyright in works of folk  literature  and

art shall be established separately by the State Council.

Article 7

Where any scientific or technological work is protected under  the  Patent

Law, the Law on Technology Contracts or similar laws,  the  provisions  of

those laws shall apply.

Article 8

The copyright administration department under the State Council  shall  be

responsible for the nationwide administration of copyright. The  copyright

administration department under the people's government of each  province,

autonomous region and municipality directly under the  Central  Government

shall be responsible for the administration of copyright in its respective

administrative area.

          Chapter II Copyright

Section 1 Copyright Owners and Their Rights

Article 9

The term "copyright owners" shall include:

(1) authors; and

(2) other citizens, legal persons and entities without  legal  personality

enjoying copyright in accordance with this Law.

Article 10

The term "copyright" shall  include  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 and to

have the author's name indicated on his works;

(3) the right of alternation, that is, the right  to  alter  or  authorize

others to alter one's work;

(4) the right of integrity, that is,  the  right  to  protect  one's  work

against distortion and mutilation;

(5) the right of exploitation and the right to remuneration, that is,  the

right of exploiting one's work  by  means  of  reproduction,  performance,

broadcasting, exhibition distribution, making cinematographic,  television

or video production, adaptation, translation, annotation, compilation  and

the like, and the right of authorizing others to exploit one's work by the

above-mentioned means, and of receiving remuneration therefor.

Section 2 Ownership of Copyright

Article 11

Except where otherwise provided in this Law, the copyright in a work shall

belong to its author.

The author of a work is the citizen who has created the work.

Where a work is created according to the will and  under  the  sponsorship

and the responsibility of a legal or  entity  without  legal  personality,

such legal person or entity without legal personality shall be  deemed  to

be the author of the work.  The citizen, legal person  or  entity  without

legal personality whose name is indicated on 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 pre-existing work, the copyright in the work thus created

shall be enjoyed by the adaptor, translator or arranger, provided that the

exercise of such copyright  shall  not  prejudice  the  copyright  in  the

original work.

Article 13

Where a work is created jointly by two or more co-authors,  the  copyright

in the work shall be enjoyed jointly by those co-authors. Any  person  who

has not participated in the creation of the work may  not  claim  the  co-

authorship.

If a work of joint authorship can be separated into independent parts  and

exploited separately,  each  co-author  may  be  entitled  to  independent

copyright in the parts that he has created, provided that the exercise  of

such copyright shall not prejudice the copyright in the joint  work  as  a

whole.

Article 14

The copyright in a work created by compilation shall  be  enjoyed  by  the

compiler, provided that the exercise of such copyright shall not prejudice

the copyright in the preexisting works included in the compilation.

The authors of such works included in a compilation as  can  be  exploited

separately shall be entitled to exercise their copyright  in  their  works

independently.

Article 15

The  director,  screenwriter,  lyricist,  composer,  cameraman  and  other

authors of a cinematographic, television or video-graphic work shall enjoy

the right of authorship in the work, while the other  rights  included  in

the copyright shall be enjoyed by the producer of the work.

The authors of screenplay, musical works and other works that are included

in  a  cinematographic,  television  or  video-graphic  work  and  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 person or entity without legal personality shall be deemed to be a

work created in the course of employment. The copyright  in  such  a  work

shall, subject to the provisions of the second paragraph of this  Article,

be enjoyed by the author, provided that the legal person or entity without

legal personality shall have a right  of  priority  to  exploit  the  work

within the scope of its professional  activities.  During  the  two  years

after the completion of the work, the author may not, without the  consent

of the legal person or entity without legal personality, authorize a third

party to exploit the work int the same way as the legal person  or  entity

without legal personality does.  The author  of  a  work  created  in  the

course of employment in one of the following circumstances shall enjoy the

right of authorship, while  the  legal  person  or  entity  without  legal

personality shall enjoy the other rights included in the copyright and may

reward the author:

(1) drawings of engineering designs and product designs  and  descriptions

thereof; computer software; maps and other works created in the course  of

employment mainly with the material and technical resources of  the  legal

person or entity without legal personality and under its responsibility;

(2) works created in the course of employment where the copyright  is,  in

accordance with laws, administrative rules and  regulations  or  contracts

concerned,  enjoyed  by  the  legal  person  or   entity   without   legal

personality.

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 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

other works, shall not be deemed to include the transfer of the  copyright

in such work, provided that 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  in  a  work  belongs  to  a  citizen,  the  right  of

exploitation and the right to remuneration in respect of the  work  shall,

after his death, during the term of protection provided for in  this  Law,

be transferred in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Succession.

Where the copyright in a work belongs to a legal person or entity  without

legal personality, the right of exploitation and the right to remuneration

shall, after the change or the termination of the legal person  or  entity

without legal personality, during the term of protection provided  for  in

this Law, be enjoyed by the succeeding  legal  person  or  entity  without

legal  personality  which  has  taken  over  the   former's   rights   and

obligations, or, in the absence of such a successor entity, by the state.

Section 3 Term of Protection of Rights

Article 20

The term of protection  of  the  rights  of  authorship,  alteration,  and

integrity of an author shall be unlimited.

Article 21

The term  of  protection  of  the  right  of  publication,  the  right  of

exploitation and the right to remuneration in  respect  of  a  work  of  a

citizen shall be the life time 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, the right of  exploitation

and the right to remuneration in respect of a  work  where  the  copyright

belongs to a legal person or  entity  without  legal  personality,  or  in

respect of a work created in the course  of  employment  where  the  legal

person or entity without legal personality 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 work, provided  that

any such work that has not been published within  fifty  years  after  the

completion of its creation shall no longer be protected under this Law.

The term  of  protection  of  the  right  of  publication,  the  right  of

exploitation  and  the   right   to   remuneration   in   respect   of   a

cinematographic, television, video-graphic or photographic work  shall  be

fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the  first

publication of such work, provided that any such work that  has  not  been

published within fifty years after the completion of its creation shall no

longer be protected under this Law.

Section 4 Limitations on Rights

Article 22

In the following cases, a work may be used without  permission  from,  and

without payment of remuneration to, the copyright owner, provided that the

name of the author and the title of the work shall be  indicated  and  the

other rights enjoyed by the copyright owner by virtue of  this  Law  shall

not be prejudiced:

(1) use of a published work of others for the user's  own  private  study,

research or self entertainment;

(2) appropriate quotation from a published work of others  in  one's  work

for  the  purposes  of  introduction  to,  or  comment  on,  a  work,   or

demonstration of a point;

(3) use of a published work in newspapers, periodicals, radio  programmes,

television programmes or newsreels for the purpose  of  reporting  current

affairs;

(4) reprinting by newspapers or periodicals, or  rebroadcasting  by  radio

stations or television stations, of editorials or  commentator's  articles

published by other newspapers, periodicals, radio stations  or  television

stations;

(5) publication in newspapers or periodicals,  or  broadcasting  by  radio

stations or television  stations,  of  a  speech  delivered  at  a  public

gathering, except where the author has declared that  the  publication  or

broadcasting is not permitted;

(6) translation or reproduction in  a  small  quantity  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 shall not be published or distributed;

(7) use of a published work by a state organ for the purpose of performing

its official duties;