Regulations for the Implementation of the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China
(Promulgated by Decree No. 359 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on August 2, 2002, and
effective as of September 15, 2002)
Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic
of China (hereinafter referred to as “the Copyright Law”).
Article 2 The term “works” as referred to in the Copyright Law means intellectual creations with originality
in the literary, artistic or scientific domain, insofar as they can be reproduced in a tangible form.
Article 3 The term “creation” as referred to in the Copyright Law means intellectual activities in which
literary, artistic or scientific works are directly created.
Any organizational activity, consultation, material support or other auxiliary services conducted or offered for
another person’s creation shall not be deemed as creation.
Article 4 For the purposes of the Copyright Law and these Regulations, the following expressions
concerning works shall have the meanings hereunder assigned to them:
(1) “written works” means works expressed in written form, such as novels, poems, essays and theses;
(2) “oral works” means works expressed in form of spoken language, such as impromptu speeches, lectures
and court debates;
(3) “musical works” means such works as songs and symphonic works, with or without accompanying words,
which can be sung or performed;
(4) “dramatic works” means such works as dramas, operas and local traditional operas for stage performance;
(5) “qu yi works” means such works as “xiang sheng” (cross talk), “kuai shu” (clapper talk), “da gu” (ballad
singing with drum accompaniment) and “ping shu” (story telling based on novels), which are mainly performed
by recitation or singing, or by both;
(6) “choreographic works” means works in which ideas and feelings are or can be expressed through
successive body movements, gestures, facial movements, etc;
(7) “acrobatic works” means works expressed through body movements and skills, such as acrobatics, magic
and circus;
(8) “works of fine arts” means two- or three-dimensional works of the plastic arts created in lines, colours or
other media which impart aesthetic effect, such as paintings, works of calligraphy and sculptures;
(9) “works of architecture” means works with aesthetic effect which are expressed in form of buildings or
structures;
(10) “photographic works” means artistic works created by recording images of objects on light-sensitive
or other materials with the aid of devices;
(11) “cinematographic works and works created by a process analogous to cinematography” means works
which are recorded on some material, consisting of a series of images, with or without accompanying sound,
and which can be projected with the aid of suitable devices or communicated by other means;
(12) “graphic works” means such works as drawings of engineering designs and product designs for the
purpose of actual construction and manufacturing, and as maps and sketches showing geographical phenomena
and demonstrating the fundamentals or the structure of a thing or an object;
(13) “model works” means three-dimensional works made on the basis of the shape and the structure of an
object to a certain scale, for the purpose of display, test or observation.
Article 5 For the purposes of the Copyright Law and these Regulations, the following expressions shall have
the meanings hereunder assigned to them:
(1) “news on current affairs” means the mere facts or happenings conveyed through the media such as
newspapers, periodicals and radio and television programmes;
(2) “sound recordings” means aural fixations of sounds of performances or of other sounds;
(3) “video recordings” means fixations of a connected series of related images or pictures, with or without
accompanying sounds, other than cinematographic works and works created by a process analogous to
cinematography;
(4) “producer of sound recordings” means the person who first makes the sound recordings;
(5) “producer of video recordings” means the person who first makes the video recordings;
(6) “performer” means an actor, or a performing group or any other person who performs literary or artistic
works.
Article 6 A copyright shall subsist on the date when a work is created.
Article 7 Works of foreigners or stateless persons first published in the territory of China, as provided in the
third paragraph of Article 2 of the Copyright Law, shall be protected from the date of the first publication of the
works.
Article 8 Where a work of a foreigner or a stateless person first published outside the territory of China is
published in the territory of China within 30 days thereafter, it shall be deemed published simultaneously in the
territory of China.
Article 9 Where a work of joint authorship cannot be separated into parts and exploited separately, the
copyright therein shall be enjoyed by the co-authors and exercised under a unanimous agreement; where an
agreement thereupon cannot be reached through consultation, any party may not, without justifications, prevent
the other party or parties from exercising the copyright, except the transfer right; however, the gains thus
obtained shall be distributed reasonably among all the co-authors.
Article 10 Where a copyright owner authorizes another person to make, based on his works,
cinematographic works or works created by a process analogous to cinematography, it is deemed that he has
permitted him to make necessary alteration of his works, insofar as such alteration does not distort or mutilate
the original works.
Article 11 The term “tasks” as referred to in the first paragraph of Article 16 of the Copyright Law regarding
a work created in the course of employment means the duties the citizen shall fulfill in the legal person or
organization by which he is employed.
The term “material and technical resources” as referred to in the second paragraph of Article 16 of the
Copyright Law regarding a work created in the course of employment means the funds, equipment or materials
purposely provided to the citizen by the legal person or organization by which he is employed for the creation of
a work.
Article 12 Where, within two years after the completion of a work created in the course of
employment, the author, with the consent by the entity he belongs to, authorizes a third party to
exploit his work in the same manner as the entity may have, the remuneration obtained therefrom
shall be divided between the author and the entity according to the agreed proportions. The period of two years after the completion of the work shall be calculated from the date on which the
author submits the work to the entity.
Article 13 In the case of a work of an unidentified author, the copyright, except the right of authorship, shall
be exercised by the owner of the original copy of the work. Where the author is identified, the copyright shall be
exercised by the author or his successor.
Article 14 Where one of the co-authors of a work dies without any successor or legatee, the rights he enjoyed
in the work as stipulated in subparagraphs (5) through (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 of the Copyright
Law shall be exercised by the other co-authors.
Article 15 The right of authorship, the right of revision and the right of integrity included in a copyright
shall, after the death of the author, be protected by his successor or legatee.
In the absence of a successor or legatee, the right of authorship, the right of revision and the right of integrity
included in a copyright shall be protected by the administrative departments for copyright.
Article 16 The exploitation of a work the copyright in which is enjoyed by the State shall be managed by the
administrative department for copyright of the State Council.
Article 17 In the case of a posthumous work, the right of publication may be exercised by the author's
successor or legatee within a period of 50 years after the death of the author, unless the author had expressly
stated otherwise. In the absence of a successor or legatee, the said right shall be exercised by the owner of the
original copy of the work.
Article 18 In the case of a work of an unidentified author, the term of protection for the rights of such an
author as provided in subparagraphs (5) through (17) of the first paragraph of Article 10 of the Copyright Law
shall expire on December 31 of the 50th year after the first publication of the work. The provisions of Article 21
of the Copyright Law shall be applicable after the author of the work has been identified.
Article 19 Anyone who exploits another person’s work shall clearly indicate the name of the author and the
title of the work, except where the parties agree otherwise or the indication cannot be undertaken due to the
special characteristic of the manner of exploiting the work.
Article 20 The term “published work” as referred to in the Copyright Law means a work which has been
made available to the public by the copyright owner himself or under his permission.
Article 21 The exploitation of a published work which may be exploited without permission from the
copyright owner in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Copyright Law shall not impair the normal
exploitation of the work concerned, nor unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the copyright owner.
Article 22 The rates of remuneration for the exploitation of works in accordance with the provisions of
Article 23, the second paragraph of Article 32 and the third paragraph of Article 39 of the Copyright Law shall
be fixed and issued by the administrative department for copyright of the State Council jointly with the
competent department for pricing of the State Council.
Article 23 Anyone who exploits another person’s work shall conclude a licensing contract with the copyright
owner, and the contract shall be made in written form insofar as the right licensed for exploiting the work has an
exclusive nature, except where the work is to be published in a newspaper or a periodical.
Article 24 The contents of an exclusive right of exploitation provided in Article 24 of the Copyright Law
shall be agreed upon by the contract. In the absence of such an agreement or of any clear agreement thereupon
in the contract, it shall be deemed that the licensee has the right to prevent any other person, including the
copyright owner himself, from exploiting the work in the same manner; unless otherwise agreed in the contract,
the sublicensing of the same right to a third party by the licensee shall be subject to the permission from the
copyright owner.
Article 25 An exclusive licensing contract and a copyright transfer contract concluded with the copyright
owner may be filed with the administrative departments for copyright for the record.
Article 26 The term “rights and interests related to copyright” as referred to in the Copyright Law and these
Regulations means the rights enjoyed by publishers in the typographical designs of their books or periodicals,
the rights enjoyed by performers in their performances, the rights enjoyed by producers of sound and video
recordings in their sound and video recordings, and the rights enjoyed by radio and television stations in their
broadcasting programmes.
Article 27 Publishers, performers, producers of sound and video recordings, and radio and television
stations, in the course of exercising their rights, shall not prejudice the rights of the copyright owners in the
works being exploited and in the original works.
Article 28 Where it is agreed in a book publishing contract that the book publisher enjoys an exclusive
publishing right but its particular contents are not specified, it shall be deemed that the book publisher has the
exclusive right to publish a book in the same language and in the form of original or revised version, within the
term of validity of the contract and the territory defined by the contract.
Article 29 If two separate subscription forms mailed by the copyright owner to the book publisher are still
not able to be fulfilled within six months, it shall be deemed that the stock of the book is exhausted as referred to
in Article 31 of the Copyright Law.
Article 30 Where a copyright owner declares in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 32 of the
Copyright Law that no reprinting or excerpting of his work is permitted, he shall append such a declaration to
the work when it is published in a newspaper or a periodical.
Article 31 Where a copyright owner declares in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 39 of the
Copyright Law that no making of sound recordings of his work is permitted, he shall make such a declaration
when his work is legally recorded.
Article 32 To exploit another person’s work in accordance with the provisions of Article 23, the second
paragraph of Article 32 and the third paragraph of Article 39 of the Copyright Law, the exploiter shall pay
remuneration to the copyright owner within two months from the date of exploitation of the said work.
Article 33 Performances by foreigners or stateless persons in the territory of China shall be protected by the
Copyright Law.
The rights enjoyed by foreigners or stateless persons in their performances under the international treaties to
which China has already acceded shall be protected by the Copyright Law.
Article 34 Sound recordings produced and distributed by foreigners or stateless persons in the territory of
China shall be protected by the Copyright Law.
The rights enjoyed by foreigners or stateless persons in the sound recordings produced and distributed by
them under the international treaties to which China has acceded shall be protected by the Copyright Law.
Article 35 The rights enjoyed by foreign radio and television stations in their broadcasting programmes
under the international treaties to which China has acceded shall be protected by the Copyright Law.
Article 36 Where any act of infringement is committed as enumerated in Article 47 of the Copyright Law,
which also prejudices the social or public interests, the administrative department for copyright may impose a
fine of not more than three times the volume of the illegal business; where the volume of illegal business is
difficult to calculate, a fine of not more than 100,000 yuan may be imposed.
Article 37 Where any act of infringement is committed as enumerated in Article 47 of the Copyright Law,
which also prejudices the social or public interests, the administrative department for copyright of the local
people’s government shall be responsible for the investigation into and dealing with such an act.
The administrative department for copyright of the State Council may investigate into and deal with any act
of infringement that is of nationwide effect.
Article 38 These Regulations shall be effective on September 15, 2002. The Regulations for the
Implementation of the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China, which were approved by the State
Council on May 24, 1991 and promulgated by the National Copyright Administration on May 30, 1991, shall be
abolished at the same time.
中华人民共和国著作权法实施条例
（2002年8月2日中华人民共和国国务院令 第359号公布，自2002年9月15日起施行） 第一条 根据《中华人民共和国著作权法》（以下简称著作权法），制定本条例。 第二条 著作权法所称作品，是指文学、艺术和科学领域内具有独创性并能以某种有形形式复制的智力成果。 第三条 著作权法所称创作，是指直接产生文学、艺术和科学作品的智力活动。 为他人创作进行组织工作，提供咨询意见、物质条件，或者进行其他辅助工作，均不视为创作。 第四条 著作权法和本条例中下列作品的含义： （一）文字作品，是指小说、诗词、散文、论文等以文字形式表现的作品； （二）口述作品，是指即兴的演说、授课、法庭辩论等以口头语言形式表现的作品； （三）音乐作品，是指歌曲、交响乐等能够演唱或者演奏的带词或者不带词的作品； （四）戏剧作品，是指话剧、歌剧、地方戏等供舞台演出的作品； （五）曲艺作品，是指相声、快书、大鼓、评书等以说唱为主要形式表演的作品； （六）舞蹈作品，是指通过连续的动作、姿势、表情等表现思想情感的作品； （七）杂技艺术作品，是指杂技、魔术、马戏等通过形体动作和技巧表现的作品； （八）美术作品，是指绘画、书法、雕塑等以线条、色彩或者其他方式构成的有审美意义的平面或者立体的造型艺术作品； （九）建筑作品，是指以建筑物或者构筑物形式表现的有审美意义的作品； （十）摄影作品，是指借助器械在感光材料或者其他介质上记录客观物体形象的艺术作品； （十一）电影作品和以类似摄制电影的方法创作的作品，是指摄制在一定介质上，由一系列有伴音或者无伴音的画面组成，并且借助适当装置放映或者以其他方 式传播的作品； （十二）图形作品，是指为施工、生产绘制的工程设计图、产品设计图，以及反映地理现象、说明事物原理或者结构的地图、示意图等作品； （十三）模型作品，是指为展示、试验或者观测等用途，根据物体的形状和结构，按照一定比例制成的立体作品。 第五条 著作权法和本条例中下列用语的含义： （一）时事新闻，是指通过报纸、期刊、广播电台、电视台等媒体报道的单纯事实消息； （二）录音制品，是指任何对表演的声音和其他声音的录制品； （三）录像制品，是指电影作品和以类似摄制电影的方法创作的作品以外的任何有伴音或者无伴音的连续相关形象、图像的录制品； （四）录音制作者，是指录音制品的首次制作人； （五）录像制作者，是指录像制品的首次制作人； （六）表演者，是指演员、演出单位或者其他表演文学、艺术作品的人。 第六条 著作权自作品创作完成之日起产生。 第七条 著作权法第二条第三款规定的首先在中国境内出版的外国人、无国籍人的作品，其著作权自首次出版之日起受保护。 第八条 外国人、无国籍人的作品在中国境外首先出版后，30日内在中国境内出版的，视为该作品同时在中国境内出版。 第九条 合作作品不可以分割使用的，其著作权由各合作作者共同享有，通过协商一致行使；不能协商一致，又无正当理由的，任何一方不得阻止他方行使除转 让以外的其他权利，但是所得收益应当合理分配给所有合作作者。 第十条 著作权人许可他人将其作品摄制成电影作品和以类似摄制电影的方法创作的作品的，视为已同意对其作品进行必要的改动，但是这种改动不得歪曲篡改 原作品。 第十一条 著作权法第十六条第一款关于职务作品的规定中的“工作任务”，是指公民在该法人或者该组织中应当履行的职责。 著作权法第十六条第二款关于职务作品的规定中的“物质技术条件”，是指该法人或者该组织为公民完成创作专门提供的资金、设备或者资料。 第十二条 职务作品完成两年内，经单位同意，作者许可第三人以与单位使用的相同方式使用作品所获报酬，由作者与单位按约定的比例分配。 作品完成两年的期限，自作者向单位交付作品之日起计算。 第十三条 作者身份不明的作品，由作品原件的所有人行使除署名权以外的著作权。作者身份确定后，由作者或者其继承人行使著作权。 第十四条 合作作者之一死亡后，其对合作作品享有的著作权法第十条第一款第（五）项至第（十七）项规定的权利无人继承又无人受遗赠的，由其他合作作者 享有。 第十五条 作者死亡后，其著作权中的署名权、修改权和保护作品完整权由作者的继承人或者受遗赠人保护。 著作权无人继承又无人受遗赠的，其署名权、修改权和保护作品完整权由著作权行政管理部门保护。 第十六条 国家享有著作权的作品的使用，由国务院著作权行政管理部门管理。 第十七条 作者生前未发表的作品，如果作者未明确表示不发表，作者死亡后50年内，其发表权可由继承人或者受遗赠人行使；没有继承人又无人受遗赠的， 由作品原件的所有人行使。 第十八条 作者身份不明的作品，其著作权法第十条第一款第（五）项至第（十七）项规定的权利的保护期截止于作品首次发表后第50年的12月31日。作 者身份确定后，适用著作权法第二十一条的规定。 第十九条 使用他人作品的，应当指明作者姓名、作品名称；但是，当事人另有约定或者由于作品使用方式的特性无法指明的除外。 第二十条 著作权法所称已经发表的作品，是指著作权人自行或者许可他人公之于众的作品。 第二十一条 依照著作权法有关规定，使用可以不经著作权人许可的已经发表的作品的，不得影响该作品的正常使用，也不得不合理地损害著作权人的合法利 益。 第二十二条 依照著作权法第二十三条、第三十二条第二款、第三十九条第三款的规定使用作品的付酬标准，由国务院著作权行政管理部门会同国务院价格主管 部门制定、公布。 第二十三条 使用他人作品应当同著作权人订立许可使用合同，许可使用的权利是专有使用权的，应当采取书面形式，但是报社、期刊社刊登作品除外。 第二十四条 著作权法第二十四条规定的专有使用权的内容由合同约定，合同没有约定或者约定不明的，视为被许可人有权排除包括著作权人在内的任何人以同 样的方式使用作品；除合同另有约定外，被许可人许可第三人行使同一权利，必须取得著作权人的许可。 第二十五条 与著作权人订立专有许可使用合同、转让合同的，可以向著作权行政管理部门备案。 第二十六条 著作权法和本条例所称与著作权有关的权益，是指出版者对其出版的图书和期刊的版式设计享有的权利，表演者对其表演享有的权利，录音录像制 作者对其制作的录音录像制品享有的权利，广播电台、电视台对其播放的广播、电视节目享有的权利。 第二十七条 出版者、表演者、录音录像制作者、广播电台、电视台行使权利，不得损害被使用作品和原作品著作权人的权利。 第二十八条 图书出版合同中约定图书出版者享有专有出版权但没有明确其具体内容的，视为图书出版者享有在合同有效期限内和在合同约定的地域范围内以同 种文字的原版、修订版出版图书的专有权利。 第二十九条 著作权人寄给图书出版者的两份订单在6个月内未能得到履行，视为著作权法第三十一条所称图书脱销。 第三十条 著作权人依照著作权法第三十二条第二款声明不得转载、摘编其作品的，应当在报纸、期刊刊登该作品时附带声明。 第三十一条 著作权人依照著作权法第三十九条第三款声明不得对其作品制作录音制品的，应当在该作品合法录制为录音制品时声明。 第三十二条 依照著作权法第二十三条、第三十二条第二款、第三十九条第三款的规定，使用他人作品的，应当自使用该作品之日起2个月内向著作权人支付报 酬。 第三十三条 外国人、无国籍人在中国境内的表演，受著作权法保护。 外国人、无国籍人根据中国参加的国际条约对其表演享有的权利，受著作权法保护。 第三十四条 外国人、无国籍人在中国境内制作、发行的录音制品，受著作权法保护。 外国人、无国籍人根据中国参加的国际条约对其制作、发行的录音制品享有的权利，受著作权法保护。 第三十五条 外国的广播电台、电视台根据中国参加的国际条约对其播放的广播、电视节目享有的权利，受著作权法保护。 第三十六条 有著作权法第四十七条所列侵权行为，同时损害社会公共利益的，著作权行政管理部门可以处非法经营额3倍以下的罚款；非法经营额难以计算 的，可以处10万元以下的罚款。 第三十七条 有著作权法第四十七条所列侵权行为，同时损害社会公共利益的，由地方人民政府著作权行政管理部门负责查处。 国务院著作权行政管理部门可以查处在全国有重大影响的侵权行为。 第三十八条 本条例自2002年9月15日起施行。1991年5月24日国务院批准、1991年5月30日国家版权局发布的《中华人民共和国著作权法 实施条例》同时废止。