Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised in 2020)‍ 中华人民共和国著作权法（2020修正）

Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised in 2020)

Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised in 2020)‍

中华人民共和国著作权法（2020修正）

‍

(Adopted at the 15th Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on September 7, 1990; amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on October 27, 2001; amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 13th Session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress on February 26, 2010; and amended for the third time according to the Decision on Amending the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 23rd Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on November 11, 2020)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1
This Law is enacted pursuant to the Constitution for the purposes of protecting copyrights and copyright-related rights and interests of authors of literary, artistic and scientific works, encouraging creation and transmission of works which are beneficial to development of socialist spiritual and material civilisation, and promoting development and prosperity of socialist cultural and scientific undertakings.

Article 2
Chinese citizens, legal persons or organizations without legal personality enjoy copyright over their works, whether published or not, in accordance with this Law.

Copyright over works of foreigners and Stateless persons vested pursuant to an agreement entered into between the home country or the country of habitual residence of the author and China or an international treaty to the home country or the country of habitual residence of the author and China are parties shall be protected by this Law.

Foreigners and Stateless persons whose works are first published in China enjoy copyright pursuant to this Law.

Works of authors from a country which has not entered into an agreement with China or participated in an international treaty to which China is a party and of Stateless persons, which are first published in a member country of an international treaty to which China is a party or are simultaneously published in a member country and a non-member country, shall be protected by this Law.

Article 3
For the purpose of this Law, works shall refer to original intellectual achievements in the fields of literature, art and science which can be expressed in a certain form, including:

(1) written works;

(2) oral works;

(3) musical, dramatic, opera, dance, acrobatic artistic works;

(4) fine arts, architectural works;

(5) photographic works;

(6) audio-visual works;

(7) graphic works and model works, such as engineering design plan, product design plan, map, schematic diagram, etc.;

(8) computer software;
and

(9) any other intellectual achievements which comply with the characteristics of the works.

Article 4
Copyright holders and holders of copyright-related rights, when exercising their rights, shall not violate the Constitution and laws or harm public interest. The State shall implement supervision and administration over publication and transmission of works pursuant to the law.

Article 5
This Law shall not apply to:

(1) laws, regulations, resolutions, decisions and orders of State agencies, other legislative, administrative and judicial documents, and the official translation thereof;

(2) pure factual information;
and

(3) calendar system, general tables, general forms and formulae.

Article 6
Measures for protection of copyright of folk literature and art works shall be separately stipulated by the State Council.

Article 7
The competent copyright authority of the State shall be responsible for administration of copyright nationwide;
the local copyright authorities at the county level or above shall be responsible for administration of copyright within their administrative regions.

Article 8
Copyright holders and holders of copyright-related rights may authorise a copyright collective management organisation to exercise the copyright or copyright-related rights. A copyright collective management organisation established pursuant to the law is a non-profit legal person, and may, upon being authorised, claim rights in its own name for the copyright holders and the holders of copyright-related rights, and may be involved in litigation, arbitration and mediation activities of such copyright or copyright-related rights in the capacity of a party concerned.

A copyright collective management organisation shall collect royalty from users as authorised. The rates of royalty shall be determined by the copyright collective management organisation and the users' representative upon negotiation. Where the negotiation is unsuccessful, an application may be filed with the competent copyright authority of the State for a ruling;
any party that disagrees with the ruling may file a lawsuit with a people's court;
the party concerned may file a lawsuit directly with a people's court.

A copyright collective management organisation shall make regular announcements on general information of collection and transfer of royalty, withdrawal and use of management fees, undistributed portion of royalty, etc., and establish a rights information enquiry system for enquiry by rights holders and users. The competent copyright authority of the State shall supervise and administer the collective management organisation pursuant to the law.

The method of establishment of a copyright collective management organisation, its rights and obligations, collection and distribution of royalty, and supervision and administration over such copyright collective management organisation shall be separately stipulated by the State Council.

Chapter II Copyright

Section 1 Copyright Holders and Their Rights

Article 9
Copyright holders shall include:

(1) authors;
and

(2) any other natural persons, legal persons or unincorporated organisations that enjoy copyright pursuant to this Law.

Article 10
Copyright shall include the following personal rights and property rights:

(1) publication right, i.e. the right to decide whether a work is made public;

(2) right of authorship, i.e. the right to be named as author of a work;

(3) right of revision, i.e. the right to revise a work or to authorise others to revise a work;

(4) right to preserve the integrity of work, i.e. the right to protect a work from distortion or tampering;

(5) reproduction right, i.e. the right to reproduce one or more copies of a work by printing, photocopying, rubbing, audio recording, video recording, duplication, digitization of photographic reproduction, etc.;

(6) distribution right, i.e. the right to provide the original copy or replicas of a work to the public by sale or gift;

(7) rental right, i.e. the right to license others to temporarily use the original or copies of the audio-visual works or computer software for a fee, except where the computer software is not the main subject matter of the lease;

(8) exhibition right, i.e. the right to put the original copy or replicas of art works and photographic works on public display;

(9) performance right, i.e. the right to put up a public performance of a work and publicly broadcast performance of a work through various means;

(10) screening right, i.e. the right to put up a public screening of art works, photographic works, audio-visual works, etc. through technical equipment such as film projector, slide projector, etc.;

(11) broadcasting right, i.e. the right to publicly transmit or relay a work through cable or wireless method and the right to transmit broadcasting works to the public through a loudspeaker or other similar tools for transmission of symbols, sounds or images, excluding the right stipulated in Item (12) of this paragraph;

(12) information network transmission right, i.e. the right to provide a work to the public through cable or wireless method to enable the public to access the work at a selected time and venue;

(13) filming right, i.e. the right to fix a work on a carrier by way of producing audio-visual works;

(14) adaptation right, i.e. the right to adapt a work, thus creating a new work with originality;

(15) translation right, i.e. the right to convert the written text of a work from one language to another language;

(16) compilation right, i.e. the right to select or arrange a work or parts of a work for compilation into a new work;
and

(17) any other rights enjoyed by a copyright holder.

A copyright holder may license others to exercise the rights stipulated in Item (5) to Item (17) of the preceding paragraph and receive remuneration pursuant to the agreement or the relevant provisions hereof.

A copyright holder may transfer all or some of the rights stipulated in Item (5) to Item (17) of the first paragraph of this Article and receive remuneration pursuant to the agreement or the relevant provisions of this Law.

Section 2 Ownership of Copyright

Article 11
Copyright shall belong to the author, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law.

The author of a work shall be a natural person who has created the work.

Where a work is organised by a legal person or any unincorporated organisation, created on behalf of the legal person or the unincorporated organisation, and for which the legal person or the unincorporated organisation bears responsibility, the legal person or the unincorporated organisation shall be deemed as the author.

Article 12
A natural person, legal person or unincorporated organisation whose name is stated on a work shall be the author, and there are corresponding rights in the work, except where there is evidence to the contrary.

Authors and other copyright holders may complete work registration formalities with the registration agency recognised by the competent copyright authority of the State.

The provisions of the two preceding paragraphs shall apply as reference to rights related to copyright.

Article 13
The copyright over a work created by adaptation, translation, annotation or collation of an existing work shall belong to the person who undertakes adaptation, translation, annotation or collation, provided that the copyright of the original work shall not be infringed at the time of exercise of copyright over the work created by adaptation, translation, annotation or collation of an existing work by the said person.

Article 14
The copyright of a work jointly created by two or more persons shall be co-owned by the co-authors. A person who has not participated in the creation shall not be regarded as a co-author.

Copyright in a work of joint authorship shall be exercised by co-authors upon negotiation and agreement. Where the co-authors are unable to reach an agreement following negotiation and there is no proper reason, any co-author shall not prevent the other party from exercising other rights other than transfer or licensing of exclusive use or pledge to others, provided however that the income derived shall be distributed fairly among all co-authors.

Where a co-authored work can be used separately, a co-author may enjoy independent copyright in the portion created by him/her, provided that the overall copyright of the co-authored work shall not be infringed at the time of his/her exercise of copyright.

Article 15
A work with originality created by compilation of several works, parts of a work or data or other materials which do not constitute a work by selection or arrangement of contents thereof shall be regarded as a compilation work;
the copyright of the compilation work shall belong to the person who undertakes the compilation, provided that the copyright of the original work shall not be infringed at the time of his/her exercise of copyright.

Article 16
For publication, performance and production of audio and video recordings using a work created from adaptation, translation, annotation, sorting or compilation of a pre-existing work, the consent of the copyright holder of the said work and the copyright holder of the original work shall be obtained and remuneration paid.

Article 17
Copyright in a cinematographic work or television drama work included in an audio-visual work shall belong to the producer;
however, the screenwriter, director, cameraman, lyricist, composer and other authors of the work shall have the right of authorship, and the right to obtain remuneration pursuant to the contract entered into with the producer.

Ownership of copyright in an audio-visual work other than those stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be agreed upon between the parties concerned;
where there is no agreement or the agreement is unclear, the producer shall own the work, provided that the author shall have the right of authorship and the right to obtain remuneration.

The authors of works included in an audio-visual work which can be used separately such as script, musical work, etc. shall have the right to exercise their copyright independently.

Article 18
A work created by a natural person during his/her completion of work assignment for a legal person or any unincorporated organisation shall be regarded as a work created in the course of employment;
the copyright shall belong to the author, except where stipulated in the second paragraph of this Article, provided that the legal person or the unincorporated organisation shall have the right of priority use within its scope of business. The author shall not license a third party to use the work in the same way as his/her organisation within two years from completion of the work without the consent of his/her organisation.

The author shall have the right of authorship over the works created in the course of employment under any of the following circumstances;
other rights pertaining to copyright shall belong to the legal person or the unincorporated organisation;
the legal person or the unincorporated organisation may reward the author:

(1) works created in the course of employment such as engineering design plan, product design plan, map, schematic diagram, computer software, etc. which are created primarily with the use of material and technical conditions of the legal person or the unincorporated organisation and for which the legal person or the unincorporated organisation bears responsibility;

(2) works created in the course of employment by personnel of newspaper offices, periodical offices, news agencies, radio stations and television stations;
or

(3) works created in the course of employment whose copyright belongs to the legal person or the unincorporated organisation pursuant to the provisions of laws, and administrative regulations or contractual agreement.

Article 19
Attribution of copyright of a commissioned work shall be agreed between the principal and the commissioned party through contractual agreement. Where the contract does not specify an agreement or where there is no contract, the copyright shall belong to the commissioned party.

Article 20
Transfer of ownership of the original copy of a work shall not change the ownership of the copyright in the work, provided that the right to exhibit the original copy of a fine art work or a photographic work shall belong to the owner of the original copy.

Where an author transfers ownership of the original copy of an unpublished work of fine art or a photographic work to others, the exhibition of such original copy by the transferee shall not constitute an infringement upon the author's right of publication.

Article 21
In the event of death of a natural person who owns the copyright of a work, the rights stipulated in Item (5) to Item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 hereof shall be transferred pursuant to the law during the period of protection stipulated in this Law.

In the event of change or termination of a legal person or an unincorporated organisation which owns the copyright of a work, during the period of protection stipulated in this Law, the rights stipulated in Item (5) to Item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 hereof shall be owned by a legal person or an unincorporated organisation which succeeds the rights and obligations;
where there is no legal person or unincorporated organisation which succeeds the rights and obligations, the copyright shall belong to the State.

Section 3 Period of Protection of Rights

Article 22
The period of protection of right of authorship, right of revision, right to preserve the integrity of work of an author shall not be subject to restriction.

Article 23
The period of protection of publication right and the rights stipulated in Item (5) to Item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 hereof of works of a natural person shall be the entire life span of the author and 50 years following his/her death, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following the author's death;
in the case of co-authored works, the period of protection shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following the death of the last surviving author.

The period of protection of the right of publication for works of a legal person or unincorporated organisation, and works created in the course of employment in which the copyright (except for right of authorship) belongs to the legal person or unincorporated organisation, shall be 50 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year after completion of the works;
the period of protection of the rights stipulated in Item (5) to Item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 hereof shall be 50 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year after the first publication of the works, but where such works are not published within 50 years from completion of creation, they shall no longer be protected by this Law.

The period of protection of the right of publication for an audio-visual work shall be 50 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year after completion of the work;
the period of protection of the rights stipulated in Item (5) to Item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 hereof shall be 50 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year after the first publication of the work, but where such work is not published within 50 years from completion of its creation, it shall no longer be protected by this Law.

Section 4 Restriction of Rights

Article 24
Use of a work under the following circumstances does not require licensing by the copyright holder and remuneration need not be paid, provided that it shall state the name or designation of the author and the title of the work, and shall not affect normal use of the said work or unreasonably harm the legitimate rights and interests of the copyright holder:

(1) use of a work published by others for personal learning, research or appreciation;

(2) appropriate citation of a work published by others in a work for the purpose of introduction or commentary of a certain work or explanation of a certain issue;

(3) inevitable reproduction or citation of a published work on media such as newspapers, periodicals, radio stations, television stations, etc. for reporting of news;

(4) publication or broadcast by media such as newspapers, periodicals, radio stations, television stations, etc. of articles on current affairs pertaining to politics, economics, religious issues published by other media such as newspapers, periodicals, radio stations, television stations, etc., except where the copyright holder has stated that publication or broadcast is not permitted;

(5) publication or broadcast by media such as newspapers, periodicals, radio stations, television stations, etc. of speeches made at public meetings, except where the author has stated that publication or broadcast is not permitted;

(6) translation, adaptation, compilation, broadcast or replication in small quantity of published works for use by teaching or scientific research personnel in classroom teaching or scientific research, provided that publication and distribution shall be prohibited;

(7) use of published works by State agencies within a reasonable scope for execution of official duties;

(8) replication by libraries, archives, memorials, museums, art galleries, cultural centres, etc. of works collected by them for the purpose of display or preservation;

(9) gratis performance of published works to the public for free, no remuneration is paid to the performers and not for profit-making purposes;

(10) copying, drawing, photographing and video recording of art works installed or displayed at public premises;

(11) translation of standard Chinese language works published by Chinese citizens, legal persons or any unincorporated organisations into minority language works for publication and distribution in China;

(12) provision of a published work to a person with dyslexia in a way which is accessible to him/her;
and

(13) any other circumstances stipulated by laws and administrative regulations.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to limitations of rights related to copyright.

Article 25
Persons who compile and publish textbooks for the purpose of implementation of compulsory education and national education planning may, without consent from the copyright holder, compile published fragments of works, short written works, musical works or a single work of fine art, photographic work and graphic work in the textbooks, but shall pay remuneration to the copyright holder pursuant to the provisions, state the name or designation of the author and the title of the work, and shall not infringe upon other rights enjoyed by the copyright holder pursuant to this Law.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to limitations of rights related to copyright.

Chapter III Contract Licensing Copyright Usage and Transfer

Article 26
A contract licensing usage shall be concluded with the copyright holder for use of the work of others, except for circumstances under which licensing is not required pursuant to the provisions hereof.

A contract licensing usage shall include the following main contents:

(1) type of rights licensed for usage;

(2) where the rights licensed for usage are exclusive or non-exclusive rights;

(3) geographical scope and period of licensing usage;

(4) standards and method for payment of remuneration;

(5) default liability;
and

(6) any other contents deemed necessary by both parties to be agreed.

Article 27
A written contract shall be concluded for transfer of rights stipulated in Item (5) to Item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 hereof.

A rights transfer contract shall include the following main contents:

(1) name of the work;

(2) type of rights transferred, geographical scope;

(3) transfer price;

(4) date and method for payment of transfer price;

(5) default liability;
and

(6) any other contents deemed necessary by both parties to be agreed.

Article 28
Where property rights in copyright are pledged, the pledgor and the pledgee shall complete pledge registration formalities pursuant to the law.

Article 29
Rights not specified by a copyright holder for licensing and transfer in a contract licensing usage and transfer contract shall not be exercised by the counterparty without the consent of the copyright holder.

Article 30
The standards for payment of remuneration for use of the work may be agreed by the parties concerned, or the remuneration may be paid pursuant to the standards for payment of remuneration formulated by the competent copyright authority of the State jointly with the relevant authorities. Where there is no specific agreement between the parties concerned, remuneration shall be paid pursuant to the standards for payment of remuneration formulated by the competent copyright authority of the State jointly with the relevant authorities.

Article 31
Use of others' works by publishers, performers, producers of audio and video recordings, radio stations, television stations, etc. pursuant to the relevant provisions hereof shall not infringe upon the author's right of authorship, right of revision, right to preserve the integrity of works and right to receive remuneration.

Chapter IV Copyright-related Rights

Section 1 Publication of Books, Newspapers and Periodicals

Article 32
A book publisher proposing to publish a book shall enter into a publishing contract with the copyright holder and pay remuneration.

Article 33
The exclusive publication right of a book publisher in respect of publication of a work delivered by a copyright holder pursuant to contractual agreement shall be protected by the law, and others shall not publish the work.

Article 34
A copyright holder shall deliver the work within the period stipulated in the contract. A book publisher shall publish the books pursuant to the publication quality and deadline stipulated in the contract.

Where a book publisher fails to publish the books within the period stipulated in the contract, it shall bear civil liability pursuant to the provisions of Article 61 hereof.

A book publisher shall notify the copyright holder of reprint or publication of new edition of the work and pay remuneration. Where the book publisher refuses to reprint or publish a new edition after the books are sold out, the copyright holder shall have the right to terminate the contract.

Article 35
Where a copyright holder has submitted his/her manuscript to a newspaper publisher or periodical publisher but is not notified by the newspaper publisher of the decision to publish the manuscript within 15 days from the date of submission of the manuscript, or is not notified by the periodical publisher of the decision to publish the manuscript within 30 days from the date of submission thereof, he/she may submit the same manuscript to another newspaper publisher or periodical publisher, unless otherwise agreed between both parties.

Upon publication of the work, unless the copyright holder states that the work shall not be reprinted or extracted, other newspaper or periodical publishers may reprint the work or publish the work in the form of digest or material, but remuneration shall be paid to the copyright holder pursuant to the provisions.

Article 36
Subject to the consent of the author, a book publisher may make modification or deletion to the work.

Newspaper and periodical publishers may make modification or deletion to the text of a work. Modification of contents shall be subject to the consent of the author.

Article 37
A publisher shall have the right to license or prohibit the use by others of layout designs of books and periodicals published by it.

The period of protection of the right stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be 10 years and shall expire on 31 December of the 10th year following the first publication of the book or periodical which uses the said layout design.

Section 2 Performances

Article 38
The consent of the copyright holder shall be obtained by performers for performance of others' work, and remuneration shall be paid. The organiser of a performance shall obtain the consent of the copyright holder, and remuneration shall be paid.

Article 39
Performers shall enjoy the following rights in their performance:

(1) state the identity of the performers;

(2) protect the image of the performance from distortion;

(3) license others to make live broadcast and public transmission of a live performance and receive remuneration;

(4) license others to make audio and video recordings and receive remuneration;

(5) license others to replicate, distribute or lease audio and video recordings which contain the performance, and receive remuneration;
and

(6) license others to transmit the performance to the public through information network and receive remuneration.

A licensee who uses a work in a manner stipulated in Item (3) to Item (6) of the preceding paragraph shall obtain the consent of the copyright holder and pay remuneration.

Article 40
A performance made by an actor in order to complete the performance assignments of a performing entity shall be deemed as performance given in the course of employment, such actor shall have the right to prove identity and protect his/her performance image against distortion, and the ownership of other rights shall be agreed upon between the parties concerned. Where there is no agreement or the agreement is not clear, the performing entity shall enjoy the rights in a performance given in the course of employment.

Where the rights in a performance given in the course of employment are enjoyed by the actor, the performing entity may use the performance free of charge within its scope of business.

Article 41
The period of protection of the rights stipulated in Item (1) and Item (2) of the first paragraph of Article 39 hereof shall not be subject to restriction.

The period of protection of the rights stipulated in Item (3) to Item (6) of the first paragraph of Article 39 hereof shall be 50 years and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following the performance.

Section 3 Audio and Video Recordings

Article 42
A producer of audio and video recordings who uses others' works for production of audio and video recordings shall obtain the consent of the copyright holder and pay remuneration.

The consent of the copyright holder is not required for use of others' musical works which are already legitimately recorded as audio recordings in the production of audio recordings, but the producer of audio recordings shall pay remuneration pursuant to the provisions;
such musical works shall not be used where the copyright holder has stated that the use thereof is not permitted.

Article 43
Producers of audio and video recordings shall enter into a contract with the performers for production of audio and video recordings and pay remuneration.

Article 44
Producers of audio and video recordings shall have the right to license replication, distribution or lease of their audio and video recordings by others or transmission of their audio and video recordings to the public through information network by others and to receive remuneration;
the period of protection of the rights shall be 50 years, and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following completion of the first production of the said product.

A licensee that reproduces or distributes audio and video recordings or transmits the same to the public through information network shall, at the same time, obtain permission from the copyright holder and the performer and pay remuneration;
a licensee that rents out audio and video recordings shall also obtain permission from the performer and pay remuneration.

Article 45
Where an audio recording is disseminated to the public by cable or wireless mode or is broadcast to the public through technical equipment for transmission of sound, remuneration shall be paid to the producer of the audio recording.

Section 4 Broadcasts by Radio and Television Stations

Article 46
The consent of the copyright holder shall be obtained for broadcast of others' unpublished works by radio and television stations, and remuneration shall be paid.

The consent of the copyright holder is not required for broadcast of others' published works by radio and television stations, but remuneration shall be paid pursuant to the provisions.

Article 47
A radio or television station shall have the right to prohibit the following acts which it has not permitted:

(1) rebroadcasting of its radio or television broadcasts by wire or wireless means;

(2) recording and reproduction of its radio or television broadcasts;
and

(3) dissemination of its radio or television broadcasts to the public through an information network.

The exercise of the rights stipulated in the preceding paragraph by a radio or television station shall not affect, restrict or infringe upon others' exercise of copyright or rights relating to copyright.

The rights stipulated in the first paragraph of this Article shall be protected for a period of 50 years and shall expire on 31 December of the 50th year following the first transmission of such radio or television broadcast.

Article 48
A television station that broadcasts another's audio-visual work or video recording shall obtain permission from the copyright holder of the audio-visual work or the producer of the video recording and pay remuneration;
a television station that broadcasts another's video recording shall also obtain permission from the copyright holder and pay remuneration.

Chapter V Protection of Copyright and Copyright-related Rights

Article 49
A right holder may adopt technical measures for the purpose of protecting copyright and the rights relating to copyright.

No organisation or individual may, without the permission of the right holder, intentionally circumvent or destroy the technical measures, manufacture, import or provide the general public with relevant devices or parts for the purpose of circumventing or destroying technical measures, or intentionally provide technical services for others to circumvent or destroy technical measures except the circumstances under which such measures may be circumvented as stipulated by the laws and administrative regulations.

Technical measures referred to in this Law shall mean effective technologies, devices or parts used for prevention and restriction of browsing or appreciating of works, performances, audio and video recordings or provision of works, performances, audio and video recordings through an information network to the general public without the permission of the right holder.

Article 50
Under the following circumstances, the technical measures may be avoided, but the technologies, devices or parts for avoiding technical measures shall not be provided to others and the other rights enjoyed by the right holder pursuant to law shall not be infringed upon:

(1) provision of a small quantity of published works for use by teachers or scientific researchers in classroom teaching or scientific research, and the said works cannot be obtained through normal channels;

(2) provision of published works to persons with dyslexia in a manner which is accessible to them and not for profit-making purposes, and the said works cannot be obtained through normal channels;

(3) performance of official duties by State organs under the administrative, supervisory and judicial procedures;

(4) testing of the safety performance of a computer as well as its system or network;
or

(5) conducting encryption research or reverse engineering research of computer software.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to the restriction of rights relating to copyright.

Article 51
The following acts shall not be committed without the consent of a right holder:

(1) intentional deletion or alteration of the rights management information on works, layout designs, performances, audio and video recordings or radio and television broadcasts, except where such act is unavoidable due to technical reasons;
or

(2) provision of works, layout designs, performances, audio and video recordings or radio and television broadcasts to the public when any person is or should be aware that the rights management information thereon has been deleted or altered without permission.

Article 52
Persons who have committed the following infringement acts shall bear civil liability to stop infringement, eliminate impact, apologise, compensate losses, etc. as the case may be:

(1) publication of a work without the consent of the copyright holder;

(2) publication of a work jointly created with others as a personal independently created work without the consent of the co-author(s);

(3) passing off as author of others' work without participating in the creation of the work to seek personal fame and fortune;

(4) distortion of or tampering with others' work;

(5) plagiarism of others' work;

(6) use of a work in the form of exhibition or production of audio-visual works without the consent of the copyright holder, or use of a work in the form of adaptation, translation, annotation, etc., unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(7) failure to pay remuneration which should have paid for use of others' work;

(8) lease of original or copies of the works or audio and video recordings without the consent of the copyright holders, performers of audio-visual works, computer software and audio and video recordings or producers of audio and video recordings, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(9) use of the layout design of a published book or a periodical without the consent of the book or periodical publisher;

(10) live broadcast or public transmission of a live performance or recording of the performance without the consent of the performers;
and

(11) any other acts which infringe upon copyright and copyright-related rights.

Article 53
Persons who have committed any of the following infringing acts shall bear civil liability stipulated in Article 52 hereof as the case may be;
where the infringing act also harms public interest, the competent copyright authority shall order the persons to stop the infringing act and give them a warning, confiscate illegal income, confiscate and render innocuous destruction of the infringing replicas and materials, tools, equipment, etc. used mainly for manufacturing of the infringing replicas;
where the illegal turnover is 50,000 yuan or more, a fine ranging from one to five times the illegal turnover may be imposed on them;
where there is no illegal turnover or the illegal turnover is difficult to compute or is less than 50,000 yuan, a fine of not more than 250,000 yuan may be concurrently imposed on them;
if the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law:

(1) reproduction, distribution, performance, screening, broadcasting, compilation or dissemination to the public through information network of a work without the consent of the copyright holder, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(2) publication of a book for which the exclusive right of publication belongs to another;

(3) reproduction or distribution of an audio or video recording of a performance or dissemination to the public through information network of a performance without the consent of the performer, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(4) reproduction or distribution of an audio or video recording or dissemination to the public through information network of an audio or video recording without the consent of the producer, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(5) broadcasting, reproduction, or dissemination to the public through information network of a radio or television broadcast without the consent, unless otherwise stipulated in this Law;

(6) intentional avoidance or destruction of technical measures without the consent of the copyright holder or the holder of copyright-related rights, intentional manufacturing, importation or provision of devices or components used principally for the avoidance or destruction of technical measures for others, or intentional provision of technical services to others for the avoidance or destruction of technical measures, unless otherwise stipulated in laws and administrative regulations;

(7) without the permission of the copyright holder or holder of rights related to the copyright, deliberate deletion or alteration of the rights management information on a work, layout design, performance or audio and video recording, or radio or television broadcast, or provision to the public of such work, layout design, performance or audio and video recording, or the radio or television broadcast when any person knows or should have known that the rights management information thereon has been deleted or altered without the permission, unless otherwise provided for in any law or administrative regulation;
or

(8) production or sale of a work where the signature of another is forged.

Article 54
Where the copyright or copyright-related rights are infringed, the infringer shall make compensation based on the actual losses suffered by the holder of rights or the illegal income of the infringer;
where it is difficult to compute the actual losses of the holder of rights or the illegal income of the infringer, compensation may be made with reference to the royalties for such rights. In the case of intentional infringement of copyright or copyright-related rights, where the case is serious, compensation may be paid ranging from one to five times the amount determined pursuant to the aforesaid method.

Where it is difficult to compute the actual losses of the holder of rights, the illegal income of the infringer or the royalties, a people's court shall rule on compensation ranging from 500 yuan to 5 million yuan based on the extent of the infringement.

The compensation amount shall also include reasonable expenses incurred by the holder of rights to curb the infringement act.

In the determination of compensation amount by a people's court, where the holder of rights has performed the requisite burden of proof, but the account books and materials relating to the infringement act are held by the infringer, the people's court may order the infringer to provide account books and materials relating to the infringement act;
where the infringer refuses to provide or provides false account books and materials, the people's court may determine the compensation amount with reference to the claims of the holder of rights and the evidence provided.

In the trial of a copyright dispute case, a people's court shall, except under special circumstances, order that the infringing replicas be destroyed at the request of the holder of rights, order that the materials, tools and equipment used mainly for manufacturing the infringing replicas be destroyed without compensation, or order that the aforesaid materials, tools and equipment be prohibited from entering into commercial channels under special circumstances without compensation.

Article 55
The competent copyright authority may, when investigating into and punishing the acts of suspected infringement upon the copyright and copyright-related rights, question the relevant parties and investigate the matters relating to the alleged illegal acts, conduct on-site inspection of premises and articles of the parties concerned involving alleged illegal acts, inspect and make copies of contracts, invoices, account books and other relevant materials relating to the alleged illegal acts, and seal up or seize the premises and articles involving the alleged illegal acts.

When the competent copyright authority exercises the official powers stipulated in the preceding paragraph pursuant to the law, the parties concerned shall render assistance and cooperation and shall not refuse or hinder.

Article 56
Where a copyright holder or holder of copyright-related rights has evidence to prove that others are committing or are about to commit an act of infringement upon its/his rights or hinder the realisation of its/his rights, and that its/his legitimate rights and interests will suffer irreparable damage if no prompt action is taken, it/he may, prior to filing a lawsuit, apply to a people's court pursuant to the law for adoption of property preservation measures, order to perform certain acts, or prohibition from performing certain acts, etc.

Article 57
A copyright holder or holder of copyright-related rights may, prior to filing a lawsuit, apply to a people's court for preservation of evidence pursuant to the law for the purpose of curbing infringement acts under the circumstance that the evidence may be destroyed, lost or difficult to obtain in the future.

Article 58
A people's court may, in the trial of cases on infringement of copyright or copyright-related rights, confiscate illegal income, infringing replicas and assets used in illegal activities.

Article 59
Where any publisher or producer of replicas is unable to prove that its publication or production is legitimately authorised or where any distributor of replicas or any lessor of replicas of audio-visual works, computer software or audio and video recordings is unable to prove that the replicas distributed or leased by it have a legitimate source, it shall bear legal liability.

Where the sued infringer asserts that it shall not bear liability for tort during the legal proceedings, it shall provide evidence to prove that it has obtained the consent of the right holder or that it is allowed to use the works without the consent of the right holder as stipulated in this Law.

Article 60
A copyright dispute may be settled by mediation or may be submitted to an arbitration agency for arbitration pursuant to the written arbitration agreement concluded between the parties concerned or the arbitration clause in the copyright contract.

Where there is no written arbitration agreement between the parties concerned, and the copyright contract does not include an arbitration clause, the parties concerned may file a lawsuit directly with a people's court.

Article 61
Where a party concerned bears civil liability due to its failure to perform contractual obligations or its performance of contractual obligations failing to comply with the agreement, and where a party concerned exercises litigation rights or applies for preservation, etc., the provisions of the relevant laws shall apply.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 62
Copyright referred to in this Law shall mean literary property.

Article 63
Publication referred to in Article 2 hereof shall mean reproduction and distribution of works.

Article 64
The measures for protection of computer software and information network transmission rights shall be separately formulated by the State Council.

Article 65
Where the period of protection of publication right and the rights of photographic works stipulated in Item (5) to Item (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 hereof expires before 1 June 2021, but such rights are still within the term of protection pursuant to the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 23 hereof, such works shall no longer be protected.

Article 66
Where the period of protection of the rights of copyright holders, publishers, performers, producers of audio and video recordings, radio and television stations stipulated in this Law has yet to expire on the date of effectiveness hereof, such rights shall be protected pursuant to this Law.

Infringement or default acts occurred before entry into force hereof shall be punished pursuant to the relevant provisions prevailing at the time of occurrence of the infringement or default acts.

Article 67
This Law shall become effective 1 June 1991.