Copyright law

Term of protection for copyright

According to the Chinese law, in relation to a work of a citizen, term of protection for the publication right and the property right shall be the life of the author and 50 years after his death, and expires on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the death of the author; in relation to a collective work, term of protection expires on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the death of the last of the authors.

In relation to a work of a legal person or other organization or a work produced in course of employment in which the right of writing shall vest in the legal person or other organization (except for the right of authorship), term of protection for the right of publication shall be 50 years and expires on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first publication of the work, however, if the work has not been published within the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was created, this Law shall not protect it.

In relation to a cinematographic work, a work created by virtue of the analogous method of film production or a photographic work, term of protection for the right of publication shall be 50 years and expires on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first publication of the work, however, if the work has not been published within the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was created, this Law shall not protect it.

A foreigner and a stateless person enjoys equal term of protection for the copyright, and term of protection for the property right shall be from the publication date and 50 years after author’s death, and expires on December 31.