Copyright amendment to see legislative review

BEIJING - A senior copyright official said Wednesday that the third version of a draft amendment to the copyright law will be submitted to the State Council by the end of this year.

If the State Council approves the draft, it will be brought to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, for the legislators' review, said Wang Ziqiang, an official in charge of copyright legislation affairs from the National Copyright Administration.

According to Wang, the draft includes more content regarding copyright holders' protection, such as artists' right to profit from the resale of their artwork.

The draft also increases the statutory compensation for copyright violations, including punitive compensation, the official said.

Wang said authorities have taken opinions from the public and experts into full account in formulating the third version of the draft.

The administration published the first version of the draft in March to seek public feedback. Some musicians were displeased with the draft, as they believe that one of its articles allows producers to use, under certain conditions, published musical works without having to obtain consent from the original copyright holder, which would diminish the artists' professional rights.

Wang said the administration received over 1,600 suggestions for the first version. The second version was drafted and published in July for public comment.

Several suggestions from the public have been adopted in the third version and the drafters have been careful to avoid bias from individual groups in drafting the document, Wang said.

However, suggestions that were not adopted in the draft will be given to the State Council along with the draft for consideration, the official said.