White Paper on IPR Protection (full text)
(china.org.cn)
Updated: 2005-04-21 10:32

IV. Copyright Protection

China's legal system for copyright protection was gradually established in the 1990s, with the implementation of the "Copyright Law" as a hallmark in this process. In recent years, China has made revisions to the "Copyright Law." It has also promulgated a number of regulations with legal effect, such as "Regulations on the Protection of Computer Software," "Regulations for the Implementation of the Copyright Law," "Procedures for the Implementation of Administrative Sanctions Concerning Copyright," and "Regulations on the Collective Management of Copyright." The promulgation and implementation of these legal documents have laid a solid legal foundation for copyright protection.

At present, China has formed a three-level copyright administrative management system: the State Copyright Bureau, copyright bureaus at the provincial level and the prefectural (city) level. Governments of various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government have constantly consolidated their copyright administrative management departments and made improvements to the system of copyright administrative management and law enforcement.

In recent years, China's copyright administrative manageme nt departments at all levels have strengthened their administrative enforcement of the copyright law. They have increased cooperation with other government departments, such as the departments of public security, industry and commerce, the customs, press and publications, and cultural departments. As a result, a mechanism of law enforcement whereby different departments are coordinated in combating copyright infringement and piracy has gradually taken shape. The copyright administrative management departments have always maintained the pressure on copyright infringement and piracy. They have launched several campaigns to crack down on pirated discs, textbooks, reference books, software, illegal duplication and selling of audio-video products, selling of smuggled audio-video products and Internet infringement practices. Positive achievements have been made. According to incomplete statistics, from 1995 to 2004, copyright administrative management departments at all levels confiscated 350 million pirated copies, accepted 51,368 cases of infringement and resolved 49,983 of them. In 2004, they accepted 9,691 cases of infringement, resolved 9,497 of them and imposed administrative sanctions on the infringers in 7,986 cases. These included the investigation and punishment of two Chinese enterprises that had infringed upon the copyright of the Microsoft Corporation of the United States and other major cases.

While establishing and improving its copyright legal system and strengthening its copyright administrative management, China also attaches great importance to the establishment of a copyright public service system. At present, China has established a copyright public management and service system consisting of copyright collective management organs, copyright agencies, copyright protection associations, professional associations and organizations of copyright holders. In 1988, the Copyright Agency of China was established. In 1990, the Copyright Research Society of China was established and its name was changed to Copyright Society of China in 2002. In 1993 the China Copyright Society of Works of Music was established. And in 1998, the Copyright Protection Center of China was established. At present, writers' associations, such as China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, China Writers' Association and China Film Association as well as professional associations of book publishers, producers of audio-video products and software developers have established their own copyright protection organizations. Copyright societies have been established in more than 20 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government) and some major cities. Preparatory work is under way to establish China's collective copyright management organizations of works of the written language and of audio-video products.

V. Intellectual Property Rights Protection for Audio and Video Products

Persistent piracy of audio and video products in spite of repeated bans is a problem of international significance. The Chinese government attaches great importance to IPR protection for audio and video products, treats crackdown on piracy of audio and video products as an important task in IPR protection and has made continuous efforts to carry it out. In recent years, China has gradually established a whole set of systems for the management of audio and video products, which mainly includes an IPR protection system, audio and video business license system, exclusive publication right system, duplication authorization system, SID code system, censorship system for imported audio and video products, the system of awards for informants, the system of uniform anti-counterfeit labels for audio and video products, the system of registration and filing of audio and video products in storehouses, and the system of inspection of, report on and keeping the public informed of illegal audio and video products.

In August 1994, the government promulgated the "Regulations on the Administration of Audio and Video Products," and amended it in December 2001. In accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, including the "General Principles of the Civil Law," "Copyright Law," "Criminal Law" and "Regulations on the Administration of Audio and Video Products," the Press and Publication General Administration, Ministry of Culture, General Administration of Customs and Ministry of Commerce respectively and jointly issued a series of administrative regulations, such as the "Regulations on the Administration of Publication of Audio and Video Products," "Measures for the Administration of Wholesale, Retail and Renting of Audio and Video Products," "Measures for the Administration of Import of Audio and Video Products" and "Measures for the Administration of China-Foreign Cooperative Distribution Enterprises of Audio-video Products," providing both legal and administrative groundwork for the business and protection of audio and video products.

In light of the rapidly developing audio-video market, the government has step by step readjusted its administration of the audio-video industry. The "Regulations on the Administration of Audio and Video Products" provides for the division of functions in the administration of the industry. In 1998, the State Council further sorted out the administrative system on the principle of "streamlining, efficiency and unification," clearly assigning the administration of audio-video products' production, publication and duplication to the Press and Publication General Administration; and that of wholesale, retail, renting, showing and import of audio-video products to the Ministry of Culture. Following the suit of the central government, the local governments have also readjusted their administrative systems in this regard. So far, China has initially established market management networks at the central, provincial, prefectural and county levels. In most areas, investigation squads have been set up to keep watch on cultural markets, including the market for audio and video products. They sincerely perform the duties of supervision and administration on the audio-video market.

Since the 1990s, the publication market supervision authorities and cultural administration authorities have cooperated closely with other relevant departments in making sustained efforts to enforce order in the audio-video market. As a result, the order of the audio-video market has been gradually improved, the number of pirated audio-video products clearly reduced, and the circulation of original copies greatly increased. According to incomplete statistics, from 1994 to 2004, nine CD duplicating enterprises had their duplication business licenses revoked, and 200 illegal CD production lines were discovered. In August 2004, under the unified arrangement of the special IPR protection campaign, the Ministry of Culture drew up an overall plan for an intensive crackdown on infringements in the audio-video industry, in accordance with which it guided and coordinated with key cities and areas in strengthening law enforcement, and discovering and closing down a large number of underground storehouses and distribution networks of illegal audio-video products. In 2004, cultural market inspecting and management authorities throughout the country inspected audio-video businesses on 555,368 occasions, confiscating 154 million copies of audio-video works. On January 12, 2005, the Ministry of Culture and the Office of the National Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights Protection launched a nationwide campaign to destroy illegal audio-video products, during which over 63.35 million copies of such products were destroyed.