Copyright Law Newly Revised by NPC
ISSUING AUTHORITY:
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
DATE OF ISSUANCE:
November 11, 2020
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised in 2020) (“Revised Copyright Law”) was issued by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on November 11, 2020 and will become effective on June 1, 2021.
The Revised Copyright Law has changed the definition of the term “works”. It stipulates that for the purposes of this Law, the term "works" shall refer to intellectual creations with originality in the realm of literature, art or science that can be represented in a certain form, and other intellectual creations that meet the characteristics of works are also included. Meanwhile, film works and works created using methods similar to film making were amended to audio-visual works in the Revised Copyright Law.
The Revised Copyright Law stipulates that in the case of any intentional infringement of a copyright or copyright-related rights, if the case is serious, compensation may be paid ranging from one to five times the amount determined according to the aforesaid method. Where it is difficult to compute the actual losses of the rights holder, the illegal proceeds obtained by the infringer or the royalties, the people's court shall decide to award compensation ranging from CNY500 to CNY5 million according to the circumstances of the infringement.
In addition, The Revised Copyright Law also clarifies the copyright of the joint work, the performer’s rights in a performance given in the course of employment, and clarifies that a collective copyright management body established under the law shall be a non-profit legal person. Further, such a collective copyright management body shall regularly disclose to the public its overall report including the collection and transfer of royalties, withdrawal and use of management fees and the undistributed part of royalties.
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