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.
