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), for the purposes of protecting the right of communication through information network of copyright owners and copyright-related right owners (hereinafter referred to as right owners) and encouraging the communication to the public of highly rated works, performances, and sound and video recordings.
Article 2
For the purpose of these Regulations, (1) “information network” means an information system that is capable of making available to the public of works, performances, or sound and video recordings by wire or wireless means in such a way that members of the public may access these works, performances, or sound and video recordings from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;
(2) “technological measures” means effective devices or methods used by right owners or exclusive licensees for preventing or restricting unauthorized or unlawful access to, or communication to the public of, their works, performances, or sound and video recordings through information network;
(3) “electronic rights management information” means texts, numbers or codes that identify works, performances, or sound and video recordings as well as their right owners or exclusive licensees, or that specify the terms and conditions of use of the works, performances, or sound and video recordings, when any of these items of information appears in connection with the communication to the public through information network of works, performances, or sound and video recordings.
Article 3
The right of communication through information network enjoyed by right owners in their works, performances, or sound and video recordings consists of both the right to communicate by themselves, and the right to authorize other persons to communicate, their works, performances, or sound and video recordings to the public through information network.
Anyone who uploads other persons’ works, performances, or sound and video recordings to a network server for public access, reproduction or use in other means shall obtain authorization from, and pay remuneration to, the right owners, except where otherwise provided for in laws or regulations.
Article 4
In the following cases, a work may be used without authorization from, and without payment of remuneration to, the copyright owner, provided that the name of the author as well as the title and source of the work are indicated, depending on the circumstances, and that the other rights enjoyed by the copyright owner are not prejudiced:
(1) re-pasting another person’s remarks at a BBS to another BBS, except where the copyright owner declares that re-pasting is not permitted;
(2) unavoidable representation or quotation of another person’s published work on information network for the purpose of reporting current events;
(3) communication to the public through information network of an article on current political, economic or religious topics published by other media, except where the copyright owner declares that communication in other means is not permitted;
(4) communication to the public through information network of a speech delivered at a public gathering, except where the copyright owner declares that communication in other means is not permitted;
(5) provision by a public library of a published work in its collection with its own network reading system for public reading within its premises, provided that the network reading system does not provide copy service and is able to effectively prevent further communication through information network of the work provided for network reading;
(6) reproduction of another person’s webpage for the purpose of providing searching service, provided that the technological measures adopted by the right owner or exclusive licensee are not circumvented, and that no copy function is furnished;
(7) translation of a published work of a Chinese citizen, legal entity or any other organization from Han language into any of minority nationality languages, as well as communication of the translation to the public through information network;
(8) use of software for non-profit purposes in the course of repairing computers or other devices as well as systems or networks, or demonstrating their functions.
The first paragraph shall also be applicable to the limitations on rights of performers and producers of sound and video recordings.
Article 5
Except where the copyright owner declares in advance that the use of his work is not permitted, a distance education institution which meets all of the following conditions, in providing network distance education for implementing the nine-year compulsory education and the national educational planning, may use passages of a work, a short written work or musical work, or a single work of fine art or photographic work which has been published to produce textbook software for network distance education, without permission from the copyright owner, provided that the name of the author as well as the title and source of the work are indicated, that remuneration is paid according to regulations, and that the other rights enjoyed by the copyright owner according to law are not prejudiced:
