Decree of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China
No. 105
International Copyright Treaties Implementing Rules are hereby
promulgated and shall be effective as of September 31, 1992.
Premier, Li Peng
September 25, 1992
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International Copyright Treaties Implementing Rules
Article 1 These Rules are formulated to implement international
copyright treaties and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of
owners of copyright in foreign works．
Article 2 Protection of foreign works shall be carried out through
application of the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China
(hereinafter referred to as “the Copyright Law”)，the Implementing
Regulations of the Copyright Law， the Regulations on Computer
Software Protection and these Rules.
Article 3 “International copyright treaties” mentioned in these
Rules shall refer to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary
and Artistic Works(hereinafter referred to as “the Berne Convention”)to
which(the People’s Republic of)China(hereinafter referred to as “China”）
is a party and bilateral agreements relating to copyright which China has
concluded with foreign countries．
Article 4 Foreign works mentioned in these Rules shall include：
(1)works of which the author or one of the co-authors or the other
owner of copyright or one of the co-owners of copyright is a national or a
permanent resident of a country party to international copyright treaties；
(2)works of which the author is not a national or a permanent
resident of a country party to international copyright treaties but which
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have been first published or published simultaneously in a country party
to international copyright treaties；
(3)works created by others on commission，of which the owner of
copyright or one of the co-owners of copyright，by virtue of a contract is
a joint venture enterprise，a cooperative enterprise or an enterprise with
sole foreign investment．
Article 5 In the case of unpublished foreign works，the term of
protection shall be governed by Article 20 and Article 21 of the Copyright
Law．
Article 6 In the case of foreign works of applied art，the term of
protection shall be 25 years commencing from the creation of the Works．
Paragraph one of this Article，however，shall not apply to the use of
works of fine arts，including drawings of cartoon characters，in industrial
goods.
Article 7 Foreign computer programs shall be protected as literary
works，shall not be subject to registration and shall enjoy a term of
protection of 50 years commencing from the end of the year of their first
publication．
Article 8 Foreign works created by compiling non-protected
materials shall be protected in accordance with Article 14 of the
Copyright Law，provided that originality is shown in the selection and
arrangement of such materials．Such protection，however，shall not
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prevent another person from using the same materials to create works of
compilation．
Article 9 Foreign video recordings shall be treated as
cinematographic works to the extent that international copyright treaties
protect them as such works．
Article 10 Prior permission of the copyright owner shall be
required to translate a published foreign work，if created in Chinese，into
the language of a minority nationality．
Article 11 Copyright owners of foreign works shall have the right to
authorize the public performance，by any means or process，of their
works，and the communication to the public of the performance of their
works．
Article 12 Copyright owners of foreign cinematographic works，
television works and works of video recordings shall have the right to
authorize the public performance of their works．
Article 13 Prior permission of the copyright owner shall be required
for newspapers and periodicals to reprint a foreign work，except the
reprinting of articles on current political，economic and social topics．
Article 14 Copyright owners of foreign works shall retain the right
to authorize or prohibit rental of copies of their works after the authorized
sale of such copies．
Article 15 Copyright owners of foreign works shall have the right
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to prohibit the importation of the following types of copies of their
works：
(1)infringing copies；
(2)copies coming from a country where their works are not
protected．
Article 16 In the case of public performance，recording and
broadcasting of foreign works，the provisions of the Berne Convention
shall apply．Where there is a collective administration organization，prior
permission of such organization shall be required．
Article 17 Foreign works which，at the date on which international
copyright treaties enter into force in China，have not fallen into the public
domain in their countries of origin shall be protected until the expiration
of the term of protection as is prescribed in the Copyright Law and these
Rules．
Paragraph one of this Article shall not apply to uses of foreign works
that took place before international copyright treaties entered into force in
China．
A Chinese citizen or legal person who owned and used a particular
copy of a foreign work for a particular purpose before international
copyright treaties entered into force in China may continue to make use
of that copy of the work without liability，provided that such copy is
neither reproduced nor used in any manner that unreasonably prejudices
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the legitimate rights and interests of the copyright owner．
The application of the above three paragraphs of this Article shall be
subject to provisions of bilateral agreements relating to copyright
concluded by China with the countries concerned．
Article 18 Articles 5，12，14，15 and 17 of these Rules shall also
apply to sound recordings
Article 19 Where pre-existing administrative regulations relating
to copyright may conflict with these Rules, these Rules shall
apply．Where these Rules may conflict with international copyright
treaties，the international copyright treaties shall apply．
Article 20 The implementation in China of international copyright
treaties shall be the responsibility of the National Copyright
Administration of China．
Article 21 The interpretation of these Rules shall be the
responsibility of the National Copyright Administration of China．
Article 22 These Rules shall enter into force on September 30，
1992．