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The final judgment in 2023 of the case There They Were once again triggers the legal community of China to reflect on the protection of literary roles and the boundary of fan literature creation. Fan literature can be divided into dependent and independent derivative fan literature. Judicial practices of China misunderstand the essence of fan writing, and confuse the protection of role-making with the protection of a role after it is appropriated. The difficulty of protecting literary roles is mainly the protection of role names, so the determination of role names is key to their protection. But the role name itself neither meets the criterion of a work protected by copyright law nor belongs to the name or designation in civil law's personality rights, nor does it naturally have the purpose or function of a trademark. So the best way to protect the literary role name is to establish a merchandising right, and the limitation of such a right must be set up simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, a hosting audio‐visual platform does not bear a copyright general monitoring obligation. It bears a public law obligation to monitor content proactively and constantly to safeguard the governance objective of cybersecurity. Little literature has discovered that Chinese case law has shown a risk that this public law obligation can impose an actual copyright general monitoring obligation upon platforms. The crux lies in that the public law obligation weakens the rationale of the copyright no monitoring obligation that a platform cannot access and assess each piece of work proactively. Copyright general monitoring seems to be workable as a platform is given such an opportunity to access and evaluate each content upon the fulfillment of the public law obligation. It, however, is unjustifiable to create this copyright law obligation by transferring it from the public law obligation, as copyright monitoring is much more complicated and costly within China's online environment. Access to content does not necessarily indicate a platform's ability to figure out content's copyright authorization status. China should retain adopting the no copyright general monitoring obligation even considering that the public law obligation has been contextually emphasized as a mandatory obligation to platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern artificial technology era, Copyright law plays an important role in giving protection to the original work of the authors, shaping the creation and distribution of intellectual works. It is the type of intellectual property, which works as a shield for the creative work. As the technologies evolve, protection to such works has become difficult because of the involvement of Artificial intelligence generated work. Content has been created in bulk, and it is difficult for the traditional copyright law to identify who is the original owner of the work. The current laws of copyright also lack provisions for the identification of the work generated by AI. This study has been conducted using qualitative analysis to find out the answers to such questions and challenges. A comparative analysis of the China and USA judgments has been made in it. The study has highlighted the major similarities and differences in these two different cases and has also shown that how it will impact the AI industry. Policy recommendations have been given, to address the challenge of AI-generated content and copyright protection to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The controversy over copyright theory in the metaverse scenario mainly arises from the issue of copyrightability of metaverse products. Metaverse products have initially reached the standard of originality and formally conform to the dichotomy of thought and expression, however, the incompatibility of object types has led to controversy over its copyright theory. In addition, the three types of disputes and difficulties based on the "behavior" element: original acquisition and derivative acquisition, original products and derivative products, and public domain and private domain, are not just copyright disputes in the metaverse scene, but also a difficult problem that the copyright system cannot reconcile. In this regard, this article draws on overseas experience, introduces the theory of copyright expansion, and combines the needs of China's judicial practice and China's national conditions, trying to solve the copyright legal issues in the metaverse scenario one by one through the "source of communication" theory, behavior restriction theory and interest game theory, and propose China's response to the problems caused by the generalization of digital technology from the three dimensions of originality standard identification, object classification, and rights restriction rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, particularly the deployment of generative AI in the creation of short videos, has exposed the anachronistic and incomplete nature of the copyright limitations and exceptions (L&E) within the Copyright Law of China. The US jurisprudential approach, characterized by the four-factor fair use analysis and the doctrine of transformative use, has been embraced in China by courts as 'general legal principles'. These principles have been localized within the restrictive framework of the Berne Convention's three-step test. However, the application of these principles to China's burgeoning AI and AI-generated content industry, exemplified by the short video sector, reveals a complex landscape. The purposes behind the utilization of copyrighted works are multifaceted, and the intense rivalry between 'long' and 'short' videos that represent established and emerging giant Internet platform enterprises further muddies the waters in the application of the American 'purpose transformation' concept. A better alternative would be to seek guidance from the Copyright Law of Japan. By grounding decisions in pre-existing, enumerated copyright exceptions, systematically categorizing L&E scenarios, and delineating key considerations for various categories, the judiciary can be steered towards a more nuanced and equitable resolution of individual cases and strike a balance between the interest of copyright holders, Internet users, and the emerging Internet platform enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its introduction into China, the Internet is said to bring in a robust force of commons in cyberspace. Under the ideology of 'sharing' and 'free flow of information', the Internet is making good use of users' free labor and their personal data. The unique business model has become the foundation of digital commons in China. Furthermore, we could figure out the rise of the Internet in China has been following the similar 'illegal' model all the time, thus causing copyright infringement and other disputes accordingly. This paper traces the early ages of cyberspace in China, trying to figure out how the private-public mixed nature of the digital commons came into being and discusses relavant legal issues during the process, shedding a light on the unique relationship between mode of production tranformation and legal regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Marrakesh Treaty entered into force in China on May 5, 2022. To fulfill its obligations and guarantee basic education access for visually impaired people, China revised its copyright law and introduced supporting measures for Treaty implementation. This article discusses various issues in designing a legal system for achieving 'intangible accessible environments' for visually impaired people in China and the priorities and possible shortcomings in transforming the Marrakesh Treaty into domestic law. Legislation must carefully avoid using specialized over-protection designs that could exacerbate the marginalization and social isolation of visually impaired people. Furthermore, it is crucial to refine the supporting system for Treaty implementation and strengthen sectoral synergies and international cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The artist’s resale right has been recognized by countries around the world in an effort to protect artists. However, despite having one of the largest art markets in the world, China has not yet established the resale right. During the last revision of the Copyright Law, although the resale right was introduced in a draft amendment, this legislative attempt ultimately failed. Considering China’s important position in the world art market, there is still controversy surrounding the question of whether China needs to introduce this right. Tracing back the causes for China’s legislative failure, it can be seen that the main reason is that China misunderstood the rationale for the legitimacy of the resale right. According to the ‘balance among authors’ theory and considering the need to protect the interests of artists, China should introduce this right. Moreover, since China already has a strict regulatory mechanism for the art market, the country meets the conditions for the successful implementation of the resale right, which means that it can be introduced relatively easily in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shenzhen Golden Idea Cultural and Creative Co., Ltd. v Hangzhou Bigverse Technology Co., Ltd. is the world’s first completed case about copyright infringement of non-fungible token (NFT) works in which a final judgment has been rendered. In this case, the Chinese court explored many legal issues related to NFT works based on an in-depth investigation of NFTs’ transaction process and business model. First, it clarified the legal nature of NFT works. Second, it made explicit judgments on the rights and obligations of related parties such as users, internet platforms, NFT distributors and copyright owners. Third, it clarified the duty of care and legal responsibilities of NFT trading platforms. Lastly, it affirmed the measure of disconnecting the link and blackholing the address of the uploaded NFT information to maximize the effect of stopping the dissemination of infringing content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Who is the author of a work generated by AI? Can AI-generated works be protected by copyright law? This issue has attracted global attention. The vast majority of countries in the world have given a negative response to this question, but one Chinese court has given an affirmative answer, instead. Does this Chinese decision represent future thinking for the world in this area? It is necessary to investigate the reasons behind this decision, which are related to China's special interpretation of "human participation" and the criteria for judging originality. This judicial result was also related to China's current lack of a distinction between computer-assisted and AI-generated results. In the future, China may continue to uphold the existing determination; however, since China does not operate under case law, Chinese courts may still change their opinion. Moreover, China's choice may not have an impact on countries that are deeply influenced by natural law, but it may still impact some countries that are strongly influenced by utilitarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the free use provision of the new Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China has added a 13th clause (the miscellaneous clause), it has not changed the closure of the free use system. The nature of appropriate quotation is a transformative use. In China, court decisions on whether parody constitutes free use are inconsistent. The interpretation of the requirement for the designation of source in the free use standard must consider the creation habits of different forms and the citation conventions of different industries. Substantial use of the work is the premise of applying the free use standard. The determination of not conflicting with a normal explication of the work involves a demarcation of the market scope of the work. In addition, courts should investigate the economic and personal rights of copyright owners when it comes to judging ‘not unreasonably prejudicing the lawful interests of the copyright owner’. Finally, it is suggested that legislators should change the 13th clause into an open standard when revising copyright law in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the 1910 Copyright Code of the Great Qing Dynasty (Qing Copyright Code) as a lens to understand China's initial encounter with international intellectual property norms, examine the dynamic political economy in which the law was enacted, and provide an overview of the structure and important provisions of the Qing Copyright Code. We argue that, although foreign pressure was an important factor shaping the Qing Copyright Code, the Code was designed not to protect the economic interests of foreigners in China but to achieve a pair of distinct goals: advance China's national interests in accessing Western knowledge and incentivize the production and dissemination of knowledge in the country. This argument is substantiated by not only the political economy of the legislation but also the later implementation of the law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has brought significant profits, legal practitioners have been exposed to unanswered legal concerns behind the frenzy of NFT transactions. Generally, such concerns include those related to the applicability of copyright to NFTs, the legal relationship between an NFT and the tokenized work, and the copyrights associated with the NFT in transactions. The Hangzhou Internet Court released the first NFT-related copyright case, setting a course for the subsequent judicial and business practice of IP-related NFTs nationally and internationally. With these general considerations in mind, the paper briefly introduces what non-fungible tokens are and how they relate to copyright law. Specifically, by interpreting the first NFT-related copyright decision in detail, the paper addresses the legal status of NFT and NFT transactions from the perspective of Chinese Copyright Law, with particular focus on the liability of online platforms and the applicability of the exhaustion doctrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Taiwan Law Review is the property of Angle Publishing Co., Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Concentration of power in terms of user traffic and copyright content is most evident in content platforms in China. Such concentration has generated an unexpected impact on the way we understand and appreciate creativity, on copyright enforcement and determination of liability on content platforms, and on the regulation of the cultural market by the government. Specifically, the concentration of power in content platforms has not only curbed direct online piracies to a large extent but has also accelerated the fragmentation of copyright enforcement and spawned the need for algorithmic recommendation and filtering systems, which in turn has reinforced the cultural censorship system of China. This paper argues that the employment of algorithms by platforms must be treated with prudence: the algorithmic decision-making systems employed by platforms must be transparent as much as possible, and remedies must be provided for concerned users. The algorithms employed by content platforms must be adjusted to reflect not just the interests of the platforms but also the public interest in accessing and delivering information and local policy considerations. This paper suggests that our regulatory framework should reflect the algorithmic turn of content platforms in its legal and non-legal instruments and alleviate their negative impact on society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision of the "Chinese Dream" has captured the popular imagination. As a slogan, the Chinese Dream is intentionally broad. Intended to inspire rather than prescribe, it captures diverse aspirations including dreams of material prosperity, environmental sustainability, national rejuvenation, and global leadership. The Dream's ramifications continue to ricochet through state policy echelons and lend themselves to competing interpretations. In that spirit, we advance a modest suggestion: that the Chinese Dream should be, at least in part, a dream about copyright law. A more effective copyright system would bolster China's creative industries, generating a diverse supply of high-quality expressive -works whose realization would advance many plausible goals of the Chinese Dream. Yet, copyright has a more fundamental role to play. Xi himself has emphasized that " [t]he Chinese dream, after all, is the dream of the people." Now that dreaming broadly and boldly is state policy, China's people need the space to dream. Copyright provides a mechanism to harness the collective imagination of China's authors and artists. Decentralized investments in diverse, high-quality media will stimulate the robust popular discourse that China needs to articulate and actualize its Dream. In short, copyright can help China dream its own dream. Because the Dream metaphor is meant to inspire bold thinking, we argue that China should be equally bold in reimagining copyright law for the future. China has shown great capacity to trailblaze in technological fields such as telecommunications and payment systems, leapfrogging Western legacy systems bogged down by path dependence and entrenched stakeholders. China should harness its technological prowess to similarly reinvent copyright in a more efficient, streamlined form. Ultimately, China must devise its own copyright system that reflects its needs and priorities, but we suggest a few candidates for such streamlining: simplified substantive rights: an automated, online registration and licensing platform; enhanced accessibility measures for small creators; low-cost enforcement mechanisms: and targeted use of competition law. A state-of-the-art Chinese copyright system reflecting suitably ambitious reforms will pay lasting dividends, not only for China's creators and content industries, but ultimately for all of China. To succeed however, China will have to adjust its current top-down approach to cultural policy and allow greater room for decentralized expression. Creative inspiration-like dreams-emerges through mysterious processes. China should muster the confidence to dream boldly in copyright policy and reap the rewards in cultural vitality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2020, China adopted the Third Amendment to the Copyright Law, providing a major overhaul of its copyright regime. This Amendment entered into effect on June 1, 2021. The last time the regime was completely revamped was in October 2001, when the Copyright Law was amended two months before China joined the World Trade Organization. While U.S. policymakers and industry groups have had mixed reactions to the recent Amendment, the new law presents an opportunity to take stock of the progress China has made in the copyright reform process. This Article begins by mapping the long and winding road to effective copyright protection in China, especially in relation to U.S. rights holders. It then focuses on the recent Amendment, highlighting five sets of upgrades or changes while offering some overarching observations. The Article concludes by identifying five road tips to help copyright holders accelerate the trip toward their destination of effective copyright protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After going through four drafts and several consultations in the past decade, the Third Amendment of Copyright Law was finally adopted in China on 11 November 2020. The new Copyright Law came into effect on 1 June 2021. This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the major changes in the Third Amendment, including originality, copyright subject matter, scope of exclusive rights, copyright collective management organisations, digital rights management, and remedies. In addition, this report discusses unsolved issues in the Third Amendment - namely orphan works and those associated with artificial intelligence technologies - for future copyright reform. By examining the amended provisions in the Third Amendment, this report illustrates the multiple purposes underlying China's recent copyright reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Law is becoming increasingly digital in nature, and the State is increasingly using digital technology for the purposes of physical legal enforcement. This paper argues that this poses unique issues for legal regulation of cultural content, changing the relationship between the individual and the State. The paper focuses on laws in the UK and China to demonstrate how these issues have arisen, and what the potential consequences of this change could be. The paper culminates in arguing that legislatures and courts should be required to explicitly consider how digital technology influences, in a given law or case, the enforcement of law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities want a voluntary, non-exclusive licence from authors to disseminate publications. This practitioner case study explores an innovative model to communicate and advance open and equitable scholarship through the implementation of the Global University Publications Licence at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. This article explains the licensing policy and key influences, including, the copyright law of the People's Republic of China and the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). The University approved the Global University Publications Licence, with implementation from 1 August 2019. It is available in Chinese and English. Since implementation, the University has retained rights for 74% of research publications submitted. 100% of those publications are available through the University with a CC-BY licence and zero embargo. The open scholarship model provides an equitable approach to versions and citation. The article concludes by suggesting university libraries can exploit copyright law in China to progress open scholarship strategies, including recognition of employers as authors of works, a priority right to the exploitation of works and an embargo protection of two years after the completion of the work. The author's final version of publications can be open, discoverable, cited and preserved through trusted universities with global reputations for high-quality research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of the Copyright Law of China (CLC) is a history of "legal transplant." Since its enactment in 1990, the CLC has been continually shaped by factors such as legal traditions, international norms, legal developments in advanced countries, and technological challenges. This hybrid legislative model has provided an extremely useful tool for transitional China to readily establish an operative copyright legal framework and demonstrate its compliance with various international treaties. However, after almost 30 years of development, China has developed to a stage that necessitates a customized, demand-driven, and internally coherent CLC. The evolution of its copyright exceptions model that concerns the balance between the interests of the copyright owner and public interests, such as access to knowledge and freedom of speech, is a pivotal part of the new search. It will also further our understanding of the global paradigm shift related to copyright exception models. The nature of a future copyright exception models in China has been intensely debated since 2011, when the Chinese government launched a public consultation regarding the third-round amendment of the CLC. In the revised 2014 draft, an open-ended general clause of copyright exceptions was proposed; however, this was criticized by academics for its imprecision and several internal inconsistencies. However, over the past few years, many new forms and ways to utilize copyright works have emerged, during which the existing closedlist copyright exceptions model was heavily challenged due to its inflexibility in the face of these new cases. Although Chinese judiciaries have already employed the U.S. four-factor fair use model or its elements in deciding difficult copyright cases, whether the U.S. approach will eventually be transplanted to the CLC remains unclear, making it a "must-solve" problem in the upcoming round of revisions. To demonstrate the complexity of the evolutionary process and the search for a solution, the first section of this article explores the historical constraints of the current model of copyright exceptions adopted by the CLC and the new challenges it is facing. The second section explores why the current approach taken by Chinese courts is meant to be an interim one. The third section critically assesses the latest published revised draft and addresses why China will not transplant the U.S. fair use model directly. The concluding section identifies a possible model of copyright exceptions for China. This model should be flexible enough to cover future needs and better reflect local realities and priorities by learning from civil law jurisdictions, such as Japan and Taiwan, that have transplanted or planned to transplant an exotic model like fair use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notification and taking down procedure of the newly enacted Chinese E-Commerce Law is uncannily applicable to all infringements of all categories of IP in selling all kinds of goods on e-platforms, even to those which cannot be determined with a sufficient degree of certainty on available evidence by the e-platform. This mechanism overreaches grounds for the DMCA notification and taking down procedure and Chinese preliminary injunction. It overstrains e-platforms' capabilities to assess intellectual property infringement and is indifferent to e-platforms' lack of legal and technological expertise. It is wrong to be obsessed with the DMCA procedure – which is ceteris paribus – without measuring up to the distinctive e-platforms, e-sellers and e-businesses. Both e-platforms and e-sellers fundamentally have a common interest in the good governance of the platforms. It is out of place for the Chinese E-Commerce Law to encourage e-platforms to be a conduit for passing notifications and to take measures upon notifications of IP infringement mechanically and unscrupulously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Unveiling Gender Discourse in the State Patriarchy—An Investigation of Cultural Strategies in the Women's Magazine in Maoist China." The original article was published in the International Journal of Politics, Culture & Society. The correction notice states that there was an error in the copyright holder information, which has now been corrected. The correction was made by Junrong Sheng and reported by the author. The publisher, Springer Nature, remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

Conventional wisdom suggests that an ideal intellectual properly (IP) regime should consider various interests, such as incentives for creators and inventors, social access to creative works, market competition, and economic development. Nevertheless, the interest of consumers has long been neglected in IP policy-making. This article systematically reviews recent Chinese court decisions on IP and explores their implicit consumer policy implications. The article reveals that the Chinese courts have occasionally embedded consumer policy considerations when applying the Copyright Law, Patent Law, Trademark Law, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. Moreover, this article illustrates how policy goals underlying the IP regime and consumer protection law are consistent or supplementary with each other in the implementation of different categories of IP laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Shanghai Physical Education Institute / Shanghai Tiyu Xueyuan Xuebao is the property of Shanghai Physical Education Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Chinese copyright laws have not yet given sufficient consideration to copyright exceptions or limitations to facilitate access to copyright works for persons with a print disability. Now that China has become a signatory party of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, it would be significant if China could amend its copyright laws so as to end the "book famine" for a huge population with a print disability. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of Chinese copyright exceptions for the print disabled and propose amendment options for China's copyright law to ensure compliance with its signatory obligations. To this end, the paper provides an overarching examination of China's copyright exception arrangements for the print disabled, identifies the gap between Chinese copyright laws and the Marrakesh Treaty, and analyses previous proposals on copyright law reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research project measures the added value, employment and export of copyright industries in China by adopting the methodology of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Based on statistics since 2006, it makes historical and international comparisons, and also introduces the development of copyright industries in some Chinese provinces and municipalities, showing the industries' contribution to boosting economic growth, employment and export. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Works of applied art cover items from a wide array of industries, but national laws diverge in how to treat such works. This article analyses the level of protection for works of applied art in China and the conditions for such protection, and previews the development of Chinese copyright law in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet and digital technologies have facilitated copyright sharing in an unprecedented way, creating significant tensions between the free flow of information and the exclusive nature of intellectual property. Copyright owners, users, and online platforms are the three major players in the copyright system. These stakeholders and their relations form the main structure of the copyright-sharing economy. Using China as an example, this paper provides a tripartite perspective on the copyright ecology based on three categories of sharing, namely unauthorized sharing, altruistic sharing, and freemium sharing. The line between copyright owners, users, and platforms has been blurred by rapidly changing technologies and market forces. By examining the strategies and practices of these parties, this paper illustrates the opportunities and challenges for China's copyright industry and digital economy. The paper concludes that under the shadow of the law, a sustainable copyright-sharing model must carefully align the interests of businesses and individual users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the reasons that plagiarism in online literature is so hard to control in China, and it will conclude with a clear solution for the future. Design/methodology/approach: This paper begins its research with the statistics and analysis of plagiarism data and a review of expert interviews regarding online literature publishing. All of these data materials were collected from anti-plagiarism platforms, online literature websites, news report websites and judiciary office websites. Findings: The paper provides empirical insights into why the plagiarism is so rampant in the publishing of online literature in China. It suggests that the current task of controlling network literature plagiarism is arguably created by the literary production platform, which leads to the problem of the validity of the "self-monitoring model." In fact, controlling plagiarism must be emphasized by means of external monitoring, because strict supervision and various external punitive measurements for committing plagiarism can force literature-generating platforms to strengthen their own internal monitoring. Research limitations/implications: Online plagiarism occurs almost constantly, but it rarely results in court cases over copyright because of the lack of a robust copyright ecology in China. This paper considers large amounts of data and cases from self-publishing media platforms. Practical implications: The paper includes implications for the development of plagiarism management in online literature publishing from the publishing Association, media and government. Social implications: This paper suggests to online literature users that plagiarism will be controlled when certain active measures against it are taken. The authors hope that this view will promote the development of original online literature. Originality/value: This paper points out that China must strengthen supervision that comes from outside the online literature generate platforms to control the current rampant plagiarism that occurs on these platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Copyrighted works are greatly entwined with the concept of the sharing economy because of their status as informational public goods. Unlike commercial sharing models that address tangible goods such as bikes and houses, the sharing of which is limited by their physical nature, sharing models for intangible copyrighted works such as Google Books and live game webcasting must account for the comparatively unfettered ability for these to be shared. Accordingly, these models are more focused on exploiting such works to their full commercial potential. However, these sharing models are to a large extent based on the unauthorised exploitation of copyrighted works and will be unworkable if the related copyright issues cannot be solved. The interest that copyright owners have in exclusivity must thus be balanced with the public's interest in further exploitation of copyrighted works. Article 22 of the Copyright Law of China outlines an exhaustive list of copyright exceptions; such a restrictive list is incompatible with the sharing economy. The Chinese courts have realised this problem and have gone beyond the law in their judgments, taking a cue from their US counterparts. However, many of these decisions appear to be inconsistent with one another. To address the aforementioned problems, this paper examines the latest proposed amendment to the Copyright Law of China and proposes several legislative and judicial actions that could help promote the sharing economy. At the legislative level, enacting legislation based on a refined open-ended fair use model is necessary to promote the development of the sharing economy. At the judicial level, Chinese courts should employ the concept of transformative use to correctly interpret legislation based on the proposed open-ended model. With transformative use as the cornerstone of copyright policy, the public gains the freedom to share others' works, participate in the innovation process, and create works with new value. Moreover, authors would retain an incentive to create works under such a legal regime because market substitution will not occur if a work is used for a different expressive purpose than that for which the work was originally created. Thus, a balance can be achieved between promoting the sharing economy and protecting the exclusivity of copyright in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gradual increase in the output of China's online literature industry and strengthening of the copyright development chain has yet to result in any standardization of copyright management. This article provides an analysis of discrimination against online literature writers, as their writing is usually considered less creative than conventionally published work. This paper then analyses the rampant piracy and plagiarism plaguing online literature in China and the difficulty authors encounter in protecting their rights. After examining this environment, the article discusses the reasons behind the dysfunctional copyright ecology facing online literature writers. It focuses on the position of the online literature platform, namely the potential capital advantage of the platform and associated weakening of the 'elite' label applied to certain online literature writers following from the freemium business model. Unclear management from the government is also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of the internet brought about revolutionary changes and challenges to the world. Internet piracy is one area which is presenting new challenges, particularly to copyright holders such as artists, fdmmakers, and creators. China has been a hotbed of piracy and is home to the second highest number of file sharing infringers in the world. China has made strides to improve its copyright protection, such as implementing a copyright law in 1990, as well as joining the World Trade Organization and signing on to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, which specifies minimum levels of intellectual property protection each member nation must provide, the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty, and the World Intellectual Property Organization Performances and Phonograms Treaty. However, China's compliance with its obligations as a signatory to the Agreement is a continued point of contention between it and the United States. This Note proposes ways for China to resolve the problems by increasing the statutory maximum damage award for copyright infringement in China, relaxing the foreign film quota, stronger enforcement of the copyright law to protect films that are not formally imported into China, and creating a special copyright division of the Specialized Intellectual Property Tribunals. Implementing these solutions will benefit not only American creators, but Chinese creators as well. With 21st Century problems, these solutions will help ensure that everyone has effective copyright protection in China in the 21st Century in light of the global marketplace that is the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the enormous extent of the e-commerce market in China, the problem of online patent rights infringement has become more severe and has received more attention from Chinese legislators. Therefore, in the latest Draft Patent Law Amendment, the 'notice and takedown' rule originally used in copyright law has now been transplanted into patent law to tackle online patent infringement issues. In our view, because there is a clear distinction between infringement of patent right and infringement of copyright, the notice and takedown rule cannot simply be transplanted without creating an unnecessary burden on internet service providers. Based on an evaluation of court rulings of the People's Republic of China, this article will provide recommendations for improving the application of the rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fact that works of applied art possess attributes of both utility and artistry means that the way in which they should be legally protected is one of the more contentious issues in copyright law and one which has long perplexed both practitioners and academics. Judicial practice varies between jurisdictions. In China, works of applied art are not listed as protectable works under the current Copyright Law. However, the third revised draft Copyright Law, issued in June 2014, treats these works separately for the first time. Through an empirical study of 127 judicial cases in China, the author draws the conclusion that there is no unified standard on the definition and protection of works of applied art. This article compares protection in the context of international regimes on the protection of works of applied art and examines the Chinese position as found in statutes and theoretical research. Based on this, the author proposes a 'two plus two'-step approach to be applied when deciding an infringement case involving works of applied art with a particular focus on the legislative perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widely derided for its materialistic culture of ‘‘cheap knock-offs,’’ the growing Chinese middle class has struggled to wean itself from the re-production and status-based consumption of counterfeit goods and Western aesthetics. From the Chinese re-production of canonical icons of Western modernity, to the more recent copying of the aesthetics of contemporary architecture abroad, the legality of copying has centered on the visual like-ness of a copy to its original. However, this preoccupation with visual aesthetics has suppressed more productive questions about the critical cultural functioning of copying in better understanding what a copy says about its copier and Chinese national identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its emergence in 2005, China’s online video industry has been embroiled in rampant piracy. Nevertheless, online video piracy has sharply declined in recent years, and copyrights have become a widely accepted and practiced legal norm. With reference to historical institutionalism, this article considers copyrights as an institution and embeds the decline of China’s online video piracy in institutional changes of three copyright-related institutions: legal regimes, administrative regulations, and the online video industry. It argues that even though intervention by legal regimes cannot simply be overlooked, an interest-led institutional change in which the industry first diverges and then converges with administrative regulations is pivotal to the institutionalization of online video copyrights. These findings further our understanding of how China’s online video piracy is sustained or undermined with a holistic, historical, and dialectical outlook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, to enact or amend an intellectual property law, such as the Copyright Law, the Patent Law, the Trademark Law or the Unfair Competition Law is a complicated process, involving a number of competent administrations, the State Council, and the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Generally speaking, there are three steps to enacting or amending an intellectual property law. First, a competent administration, such as the National Copyright Administration (in charge of the Copyright Law), the State Intellectual Property Office (in charge of the Patent Law), or the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (in charge of the Trademark Law and the Unfair Competition Law), shall draft a law or amendment on the basis of their views. Secondly, the State Council shall develop its law or amendment on the basis of the drafting submitted by a competent agency and the suggestions or opinions of other administrative agencies. Thirdly, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress shall review the drafted law or amendment by the State Council three times, making some necessary changes on the basis of its views, and then pass the law or amendment. Although the consensuses will be gathered by these three steps, it is time-consuming to pass or amend a law, taking about eight to ten years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legal debate around online ad blocking demonstrates a tension between user's freedom and online content providers' revenue-generating business model. This paper aims to analyze ad blocking from a unique perspective of the Chinese law and practice. Since ad blocking does not violate copyright law, copyright law cannot be a guardian to the ad-based business model. China takes a different approach to protect the ad-based business model under unfair competition law and bans ad blocking software directly by regulation. The Chinese courts held that providing ad blocking software is anti-competitive under a vague general principle of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. The special policy reason behind these decisions is that the Chinese government and courts want to maintain this business model and strengthen intellectual property protection. These decisions are reinforced by the regulatory ban of ad blocking software in China. However, the Chinese approach is in the wrong direction. The Chinese courts have applied a principle of “non-interference unless in the public interest” to ad blocking cases but never analyzed the public interest seriously. This paper argues that the “public interest” in the Internet context should be the interests of Internet users. The group of Internet users is large enough to constitute the general public. The public have a compelling interest of autonomy to justify ad blocking. The right approach to solving the ad blocking problem should be flexible, easily adjustable and it should not totally fail one side. Compared to direct regulatory intervention, a flexible judicial approach is better because it could take into consideration a variety of interests and strike a balance in specific cases. And, to regulate new technologies, a soft version of guidelines could be easily adjustable than an immature regulation. The Internet itself is a creative industry developed under the process of “creative destruction”. Any legal intervention shall be careful and not impede the emerging technologies, market structure development and autonomous competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The delineation of copyright subsistence is a focus area of the Third Amendment to the Chinese Copyright Law. This paper addresses the proposed reforms to the concept of 'works' in the Chinese Copyright Act in response to the challenges of the digital era and the international complaints regarding inadequate intellectual property protection in China. The amendment proposes a new definition of 'works' and introduces new types of work such as audiovisual works, computer programs and works of applied art. The paper further discusses the conundrum of the copyright protection of 'illegal works' in the aftermath of the US-China TRIPS dispute, as well as the controversial topic of orphan works. The findings of this research indicate that Chinese lawmakers intend to include a potentially wide range of subjects under copyright protection following the paradigm that innovation and creation flourish with strong intellectual property protection. However, this is realizable only via an appropriate copyright enforcement mechanism, which is most essential for the current copyright law reform in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging as a non-commercial, grassroots alternative to the state-controlled publishing businesses, online literature in China has formalised based on the freemium business model and with the influx of capital. However, little is known about the informality in the formal market and their mutually shaping relationship. This article approaches online literature production in China as case study of the interconnection and interactions between the formal and informal in the wider context of the creative labour debate. It begins with an analysis of the inception of online literature in the context of Chinese literary system before unpacking the formalisation process. It then examines precarity associated with the informal labour, particularly the augmented precarity under the sway of capital. Then, it focuses on surrogate writing as a new form of informality arising from the formalised market, reveals the formality therein and its economic and socio-cultural implications including its impact on the formal market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]