Copyright law of China

Copyright is an important component of knowledge society.

Here are some useful links that provide the details and also discuss about the Copyright law of China.

http://www.ccpit-patent.com.cn/references/copyright_law_china.htm

WIPO page (Copyright law as amended on Feb 26, 2010).

http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=6062

Implementing rules of the Copyright Law

http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=858

Regulations on Computer Software Protection

http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=840

English Version (PDF)

http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=131055

The document states that "for the purpose of regulations, Computer Software means Computer programs and relevant documents".

Article 3 defines " documents" as literal descriptions or charts used to describe the content, structure, design, functional performance, historical development, test results and usage, such as program design instructions, flow charts and user manuals.

Thus we donot need to have two different licenses viz, Software License for source code and Documentation License for relevant documents  . Quite impressive !

Article 4 states, " The software protected under these regulations must be developed independently by the developer and fixed on tangible medium".

What does 'fixed on tangible medium' mean ? 

If i develop some software and make it available from my website. Does the act of placing the source code in a particular directory amount to 'fixing on a tangible medium' ?

Article 6, clearly states that " The protection of software copyright under these regulations shall not extend to the ideas, processing, operating methods, mathematical concepts or the like used in software development".

Article 8 outlines the various rights of the developer, namely:

• the right of divulgation
• the right of developer-ship
• the right of alteration
• the right of reproduction
• the right of distribution
• the right of rental
• the right of communication through information network
• the right of translation
• other rights which shall be enjoyed by software copyright owners.

The last two sentences in Article 8, mention:

• A software copyright owner may authorize others to exploit his copyright, and has a right to receive remuneration.
• A software copyright owner may transfer, wholly or in part, his copyright, and has a right to receive remuneration.

Article 10 talks about 'joint software development'. This is something very important in Community Based Software Innovation (CBSI). Article 10 should be read together with Article 11, 12, 13.

Article 14, specifies the period of copyright assignment as lifetime of person + 50 years after his death, expiring on Dec 31st of the 50th year of his death.

Article 16 discusses about the rights of the 'owners of lawful copies of a piece of software'

• right to install and store the software
• right to make backup copies against damage
• right to make necessary alterations to the software in order to implement it in an actual environment.

I hope you liked reading this blog post as much as i enjoyed writing it.

To be continued ...