Revised Copyright Law of China Takes Effect; Statutory Damages Raised to RMB 5 Million

The new revision of the Copyright Law of China, which was passed in November 2020 during the 23rd session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, has taken effect on 1 June 2021. This is the third revision of China's copyright law since its initial enactment in 1999.

The revised Copyright Law comprises 67 articles in six chapters. It confirms for the first time the protection for the right to produce one or more copies of a work "by digital means", under the right of reproduction in Article 10, and replaces the expression of "cinematographic works and works created by a process analogous to cinematography" with the term "audio-visual works", thereby extending the scope of copyrightable works, and facilitating protection of new forms of works such as live-streamed sports and short videos.

Particularly noteworthy in this revision is the imposition of more severe measures against copyright infringement. In Article 54, a minimum damages of no less than RMB 500 is set forth, and the upper limit of statutory damages, where the right holder's actual losses or the infringer's illegal gains and royalties are difficult to be calculated, is raised to RMB 5 million, from RMB 500,000 previously. Additionally, 1-5 times of ordinary damages can be imposed as punitive damages for serious, intentional damages.