Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the
Article 2 The rights of right holders to communicate their works to the public through information networks shall be protected by the Copyright Law and these Regulations. Except as otherwise provided by laws or administrative regulations, no organization or individual shall, without the permission of the right holder, make available to the public through an information network any works, performances, or sound or video recordings created by others, and shall pay remuneration to the right holder.
Article 3 Works, performances, or sound or video recordings that are prohibited from being made available by laws shall not be protected by these Regulations.
In exercising their rights to communicate their works to the public through information networks, right holders shall not violate the Constitution, laws, or administrative regulations, and shall not harm public interests.
Article 4 To protect their rights to communicate their works to the public through information networks, right holders may adopt technological measures.
No organization or individual shall intentionally circumvent or damage technological measures, intentionally manufacture, import, or make available to the public any devices or components primarily designed for circumventing or damaging technological measures, or intentionally provide technical services for others to circumvent or damage technological measures. However, this shall not apply where laws or administrative regulations permit the circumvention of such measures.
Article 5 Without the permission of the right holder, no organization or individual shall engage in the following acts:
(1) Intentionally deleting or altering the electronic rights management information attached to works, performances, or sound or video recordings made available to the public through an information network, except where such deletion or alteration is unavoidable due to technical reasons;
(2) Making available to the public through an information network works, performances, or sound or video recordings that the person knows or should have known have had their electronic rights management information deleted or altered without the permission of the right holder.
Article 6 The following acts of making available works of others through an information network do not require the permission of the copyright owner and do not require the payment of remuneration:
(1) Properly quoting published works in order to introduce or comment on a work or to illustrate a point;
(2) Inevitable reproduction or quotation of published works in the course of reporting current events;
(3) Providing a small number of published works to a limited number of teachers or researchers for the purpose of classroom teaching or scientific research;
(4) Making available published works within a reasonable scope for the performance of official duties by state organs;
(5) Translating published works written in Chinese by Chinese citizens, legal persons, or other organizations into minority languages and making them available to minority ethnic groups within China;
(6) Making available published written works to visually impaired persons in a format specially designed for their perception, without profit-making purposes;
(7) Making available published political or economic commentaries on current affairs that are already available on information networks;
(8) Making available speeches delivered at public gatherings.
Article 7 Libraries, archives, memorial halls, museums, art galleries, etc., may, without the permission of the copyright owner, make available within their premises digital works lawfully published in their collections and works lawfully reproduced in digital form for the purpose of display or preservation, without payment of remuneration, provided that they do not directly or indirectly obtain economic benefits. This provision shall not apply if otherwise agreed by the parties.
The works reproduced in digital form for the purpose of display or preservation as mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be those that are damaged, on the verge of damage, lost, stolen, or whose storage format has become obsolete and which are unavailable for purchase on the market or can only be purchased at a price significantly higher than the marked price.
Article 8 For the purpose of implementing nine-year compulsory education or national education plans through information networks, courseware may be produced using excerpts of published works, short written works, musical works, single works of fine art, or photographic works without the permission of the copyright owner. Such courseware may be provided by distance education institutions that produce the courseware or lawfully obtain the courseware to registered students through information networks, provided that remuneration is paid to the copyright owner.
Article 9 In order to assist poverty alleviation, network service providers may, through information networks, make available free of charge to rural residents published works related to farming, animal husbandry, disease prevention and treatment, disaster prevention and mitigation, and other works that meet basic cultural needs, created by Chinese citizens, legal persons, or other organizations. The network service provider shall, prior to making the works available, announce the works to be provided, their authors, and the proposed remuneration standards. If the copyright owner objects to the provision of the works within 30 days from the date of the announcement, the network service provider shall not make the works available. If the copyright owner does not object within 30 days from the date of the announcement, the network service provider may make the works available and pay remuneration to the copyright owner in accordance with the announced standards. If the copyright owner objects after the works have been made available, the network service provider shall immediately remove the works and pay remuneration for the period during which the works were available.
No direct or indirect economic benefits shall be obtained from the provision of works in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
Article 10 In addition to the exceptions provided in Articles 6 and 7 of these Regulations, making available works of others through information networks without the permission of the copyright owner shall comply with the following provisions:
(1) Works that the author has expressly stated shall not be made available shall not be provided, except in the circumstances provided in Items (1) to (6) of Article 6 and Article 7 of these Regulations;
(2) The title of the work and the name of the author (or the name of the performer or producer) shall be indicated;
(3) Remuneration shall be paid in accordance with these Regulations;
(4) Technological measures shall be adopted to prevent access to the works by persons other than the intended recipients under Articles 7, 8, and 9 of these Regulations, and to prevent reproduction by the intended recipients under Article 7 from causing material harm to the interests of the copyright owner;
(5) Other rights lawfully enjoyed by the copyright owner shall not be infringed.
Article 11 The provisions of Articles 6 to 10 of these Regulations shall apply to the making available of performances or sound and video recordings of others through information networks.
Article 12 Technological measures may be circumvented in the following circumstances, provided that no technology, device, or component for circumventing technological measures shall be provided to others, and that other rights lawfully enjoyed by the right holder shall not be infringed:
(1) For the purpose of classroom teaching or scientific research, making available through information networks to a limited number of teachers or researchers published works, performances, or sound or video recordings that can only be obtained through information networks;
(2) Making available through information networks to visually impaired persons published written works in a format specially designed for their perception, without profit-making purposes, where such works can only be obtained through information networks;
(3) State organs performing their duties in accordance with administrative or judicial procedures;
(4) Testing the security performance of computers, systems, or networks on information networks.
Article 13 In order to investigate and handle infringements of the right of communication through information networks, copyright administrative departments may request network service providers to provide information such as the names, contact information, and network addresses of service recipients suspected of infringement.
Article 14 Where a right holder believes that a work, performance, or sound or video recording made available through the services of a network service provider that provides information storage space, search, or linking services infringes their right of communication through information networks or that their electronic rights management information has been deleted or altered, the right holder may send a written notice to the network service provider requesting the deletion of the work, performance, or sound or video recording or the disconnection of the link to such work, performance, or sound or video recording. The notice shall include the following:
(1) The name, contact information, and address of the right holder;
(2) The title and network address of the allegedly infringing work, performance, or sound or video recording;
(3) Preliminary evidence of infringement.
The right holder shall be responsible for the authenticity of the notice.
Article 15 Upon receipt of the notice from the right holder, the network service provider shall immediately delete the allegedly infringing work, performance, or sound or video recording or disconnect the link to such work, performance, or sound or video recording, and shall simultaneously forward the notice to the service recipient that provided the work, performance, or sound or video recording. If the network address of the service recipient is unknown and forwarding is impossible, the content of the notice shall be announced on the information network.
Article 16 Upon receipt of the notice forwarded by the network service provider, the service recipient who believes that the work, performance, or sound or video recording provided does not infringe the rights of others may send a written statement to the network service provider requesting the restoration of the deleted work, performance, or sound or video recording or the reconnection of the link to such work, performance, or sound or video recording. The written statement shall include the following:
(1) The name, contact information, and address of the service recipient;
(2) The title and network address of the work, performance, or sound or video recording to be restored;
(3) Preliminary evidence showing non-infringement.
The service recipient shall be responsible for the authenticity of the written statement.
Article 17 Upon receipt of the written statement from the service recipient, the network service provider shall immediately restore the deleted work, performance, or sound or video recording or reconnect the link to such work, performance, or sound or video recording, and shall simultaneously forward the written statement to the right holder. The right holder may not thereafter notify the network service provider to delete the work, performance, or sound or video recording or disconnect the link to such work, performance, or sound or video recording.
Article 18 Any person who, in violation of these Regulations, commits any of the following acts of infringement shall bear civil liability such as ceasing the infringement, eliminating the adverse effects, making a public apology, and compensating for losses. Where public interests are also harmed, the copyright administrative department may order the cessation of the infringement, confiscate the illegal income, and impose a fine of up to RMB 100,000. Where the circumstances are serious, the copyright administrative department may confiscate the computers and other equipment primarily used for providing network services. Where the act constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be investigated in accordance with the law:
(1) Making available to the public through an information network works, performances, or sound or video recordings of others without permission;
(2) Intentionally circumventing or damaging technological measures;
(3) Intentionally deleting or altering the electronic rights management information attached to works, performances, or sound or video recordings made available to the public through an information network, or making available to the public through an information network works, performances, or sound or video recordings that the person knows or should have known have had their electronic rights management information deleted or altered without the permission of the right holder;
(4) Providing works, performances, or sound or video recordings to rural areas through information networks for poverty alleviation purposes beyond the scope prescribed, failing to pay remuneration in accordance with the announced standards, or failing to immediately delete the works after the copyright owner objects to their provision;
(5) Making available through an information network works, performances, or sound or video recordings of others without indicating the title of the work, the name of the author, performer, or producer, failing to pay remuneration, failing to adopt technological measures to prevent access by unauthorized persons, or failing to prevent reproduction by authorized users from causing material harm to the interests of the right holder.
Article 19 Any person who, in violation of these Regulations, commits any of the following acts shall be warned by the copyright administrative department, have their illegal income and devices or components primarily used for circumventing or damaging technological measures confiscated. Where the circumstances are serious, the computers and other equipment primarily used for providing network services may be confiscated, and a fine of up to RMB 100,000 may be imposed. Where the act constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be investigated in accordance with the law:
(1) Intentionally manufacturing, importing, or providing to others devices or components primarily designed for circumventing or damaging technological measures, or intentionally providing technical services for others to circumvent or damage technological measures;
(2) Making available through an information network works, performances, or sound or video recordings of others for economic gain;
(3) Failing to announce the titles of works, performances, or sound or video recordings, the names of authors, performers, or producers, and the remuneration standards before making available such works, performances, or sound or video recordings to rural areas through information networks for poverty alleviation purposes.
Article 20 A network service provider that provides automatic network access services or automatic transmission services for works, performances, or sound or video recordings provided by service recipients in accordance with the recipients' instructions shall not be liable for compensation if it meets the following conditions:
(1) It does not select or alter the works, performances, or sound or video recordings transmitted;
(2) It provides the works, performances, or sound or video recordings to specified service recipients and prevents access by others.
Article 21 A network service provider that automatically stores works, performances, or sound or video recordings obtained from other network service providers for the purpose of improving network transmission efficiency and automatically makes them available to service recipients in accordance with technical arrangements shall not be liable for compensation if it meets the following conditions:
(1) It does not alter the automatically stored works, performances, or sound or video recordings;
(2) It does not affect the ability of the original network service provider to track the access to the works, performances, or sound or video recordings by service recipients;
(3) It automatically modifies, deletes, or blocks the works, performances, or sound or video recordings in accordance with technical arrangements when the original network service provider modifies, deletes, or blocks them.
Article 22 A network service provider that provides information storage space for service recipients to make available works, performances, or sound or video recordings to the public through an information network shall not be liable for compensation if it meets the following conditions:
(1) It clearly indicates that the information storage space is provided for service recipients and makes public its name, contact information, and network address;
(2) It does not alter the works, performances, or sound or video recordings provided by service recipients;
(3) It does not know and has no reasonable grounds to know that the works, performances, or sound or video recordings provided by service recipients are infringing;
(4) It does not directly obtain economic benefits from the works, performances, or sound or video recordings provided by service recipients;
(5) Upon receipt of a notice from the right holder, it deletes the works, performances, or sound or video recordings that the right holder claims to be infringing in accordance with these Regulations.
Article 23 A network service provider that provides search or linking services shall not be liable for compensation if it disconnects the link to the allegedly infringing works, performances, or sound or video recordings upon receipt of a notice from the right holder in accordance with these Regulations. However, if it knows or should know that the works, performances, or sound or video recordings linked to are infringing, it shall bear joint liability for infringement.
Article 24 Where a network service provider, as a result of a notice from the right holder, mistakenly deletes works, performances, or sound or video recordings or mistakenly disconnects links to such works, performances, or sound or video recordings, causing losses to the service recipient, the right holder shall bear liability for compensation.
Article 25 A network service provider that without justifiable reason refuses to provide or delays providing information such as the names, contact information, and network addresses of service recipients suspected of infringement shall be warned by the copyright administrative department. Where the circumstances are serious, the computers and other equipment primarily used for providing network services shall be confiscated.
Article 26 For the purposes of these Regulations, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
The right of communication through information networks refers to the right to make available works, performances, or sound or video recordings to the public by wire or wireless means, enabling the public to access such works, performances, or sound or video recordings from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.
Technological measures refer to effective technologies, devices, or components used to prevent or restrict unauthorized browsing, viewing of works, performances, or sound or video recordings, or the making available of such works, performances, or sound or video recordings to the public through information networks without the permission of the right holder.
Electronic rights management information refers to information that identifies the work and its author, the performance and its performer, the sound or video recording and its producer, information about the right holder of the work, performance, or sound or video recording and the terms of use, as well as the digital codes representing such information.
