Copyrights

Basic Information  |  Enforcement  |  Documents Needed to Register Copyright Work

Enforcement

Infringing acts
The following are infringing acts, the infringing party shall undertake to cease the infringement, eliminate the ill effect, make an apology and be liable for the damages:
a. publish the work without the author's consent;
b. publish the co-authored work as a work independently created with the co-author's consent;
c. identify himself as the author and sigh his name of the work with prior involvement of the creation of the work;
d. distort or alter the work without consent;
e. plagiarize the work of others;
f. use the work of others by means of exhibition, cinematograph or means similar to cinematograph, by adapting, translating and annotating the work without the author consent;
g. use the work without paying remunerations;
h. rent or lease the work or video and sound recordings without authorization of the rights owners created by cinematograph or means similar to cinematograph, computer software;
i. use the format design of a book or periodical publisher without his consent;
j. televise live or broadcast pubic the performance or record the performance with the performer's consent;
k. engaging in other acts infringing acts.

Serious infringing acts
The following are infringing acts, the infringing party shall undertake to cease the infringement, eliminate the ill effect, make an apology and be liable for the damages; if they are detrimental to the public interest, the copyright administrative authorities shall order the infringing acts be ceased, in serious case, the copyright administrative authorities shall confiscate the materials, tools and equipments used produce the infringing copies; if the acts are criminal, the infringing party shall be held for the criminal responsibilities.
a. reproduce, publish, perform, project, broadcast, compile or disseminate by means of information network of the work without the author's consent;
b. publish the book that has been exclusively licensed to a party;
c. reproduce, or publish the video or sound recordings containing the performance without the performer's consent;
d. reproduce, publish, disseminate by means of information network of the video or sound recordings without the consent of the producer of the video and sound recording;
e. broadcast or reproduce broadcasting or television program without consent;
f. purposely avoid or damage the technical measures used by the copyrights or related rights owner for his work or his video and sound recordings without the owner's consent;
g. purposely delete or alter the electronic encoding management information of the work or video and sound recordings of the copyrights or related rights owner without consent;
h. produce and sell the work that forges his authorship.

Liabilities for damages
Copyright infringer shall be liable for the actual loss suffered on the part of the rights owner for the infringement of copyrights and related rights, if the loss is difficult to determine, the damage shall be determined according to the illegal gains of the infringer. Damages shall include the reasonable costs for stopping the infringement. In case it is difficult to determine the loss suffered by the infringed party or the gains of the infringer, the People's Court may, according to the actual scenario of the case, determine an amount of up to 500,000 Yuan as compensation for the damage.

Preliminary injunction
Where owner of copyrights or related rights has evidence to prove that a third party is infringing or about to infringe the rights, and if such act is not timely stopped, is likely to cause irreparable damage, he may, before initiating legal proceedings, request the People's Court to adopt measures for ordering the stoppage of such act and the preservation of property. For the purpose of stopping infringing act, under the circumstance where there is a likelihood that evidence may be destroyed or lost or become difficult to obtain later, the owner of copyrights or related rights may request the People's Court that the evidence be preserved before initiating legal proceedings.

Courts
Copyright related disputes are to be tried by the Intermediate People's Court that has jurisdiction over the disputes. However, Higher People's Court (at provincial level) may designate one or more County Courts as court of first instance to try copyright related disputes.

Jurisdiction
People's Court located in the places where the infringing acts are committed, where the infringing copies are stored or seized, where the infringing party has domicile will have jurisdiction over the infringement case.