Article 1 In order to protect the rights and interests of computer software copyright owners, adjust the interest relationships in the development, dissemination and use of computer software, encourage the development and circulation of computer software, and promote the development of computer application businesses, in accordance with the "Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China." The regulations stipulate this Regulation.
Article 2 The computer software referred to in these Regulations (referred to as software, the same below) refers to computer programs and related documents.
Article 3 The meaning of the following terms in this Regulation is:
(1) Computer program: A coded instruction sequence that can be executed by a device such as a computer capable of processing information to obtain a certain result, or a symbolic instruction sequence or a symbolic statement sequence that can be automatically converted into a coded instruction sequence. .
Computer programs include source programs and object programs. The source text and target text of the same program should be considered the same work.
(2) Documents: Texts and diagrams written in natural language or formal languages ​​to describe the content, composition, design, functional specifications, development, test results, and usage of the program, such as program design specifications and procedures. Drawings, user manuals, etc.
(3) Software developers: refer to organizations that actually organize and carry out development work, provide working conditions to complete software development, and assume responsibility for the software. Legal entities or unincorporated units (referred to as units, the same below) complete software development on their own terms. People who take responsibility for the software.
(4) Software copyright holders: refer to the entities and citizens that have the copyright to the software in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.
(5) Copy: Refers to the act of reprinting software on a tangible object.
Article 4 The term "protection of software" as used in these Regulations means that the copyright owner of the software or its assignee enjoys the rights of the software copyright as defined by this Regulation.
Article 5 The software protected by this Regulation must be independently developed by the developer and has been fixed on a tangible object.
Article 6 Chinese citizens and organizations shall enjoy copyright in accordance with this Regulation for software developed by them, whether published or not, wherever they are published.
Foreigners' software is first published in China and enjoys copyright in accordance with this Regulation.
The software issued by a foreigner outside China shall be protected by these Regulations in accordance with the agreement it has with the country it has signed with China or the copyright in the international treaty to which it is a party.
Article 7 The protection of software by this Regulation cannot be extended to the ideas, concepts, discoveries, principles, algorithms, processing procedures and operating methods used to develop the software.
Article 8 The software registration management agency authorized by the State Council shall be responsible for the registration of the national software.
Chapter II Computer Software Copyright
Article 9 Software copyright holders enjoy the following rights:
(1) Right of publication, that is, the right to decide whether software is made public:
(2) The developer's right to identify, ie the right to indicate the identity of the developer and the right to sign the software;
(3) The right to use, that is, the right to use the software in the form of copying, displaying, distributing, revising, translating, and annotating without prejudice to the public interest;
(4) The use of the right to obtain licenses and the right to remuneration, that is, the right to permit others to use their software in part or all of the ways specified in paragraph (3) of this article, and the benefits of remuneration obtained therefrom;
(5) The right of transfer, that is, the right to transfer to others the right to use and the right to use the license as prescribed in items (3) and (4) of this article.
Article 10 Software copyrights belong to software developers, and those who have special provisions in these Regulations shall stipulate them.
Article 11 The software developed by more than two units and citizens in cooperation, unless otherwise agreed, shall enjoy the software copyright jointly owned by the co-developers.
Cooperative developers perform the software copyright according to prior written agreements. If there is no written agreement and the co-developed software can be used separately, the developer can independently enjoy the copyright to the respective developed part, but the copyright of the co-developed software as a whole cannot be extended when the copyright is exercised. Cooperatively developed software cannot be divided and used by co-developers in unison. If there is no consensus and no justified reason, neither party shall prevent the other party from exercising its rights other than the transfer rights, but the proceeds shall be reasonably distributed to all cooperating developers.
Article XII of the software commissioned by another person, the ownership of its copyright by the commissioner and the entrusted person to sign a written agreement, if there is no written agreement or not explicitly agreed in the agreement, the copyright belongs to the entrusted.
Article 13 The software developed by a higher-level unit or government department to assign tasks shall be subject to the assignment of the project or the contract. If there is no explicit provision in the project task statement or contract, the software copyright belongs to the unit that accepts the task.
The relevant departments of the State Council and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall have the right to determine the use of the software developed by the state-owned entities under the ownership of the system that are of great significance to the national interest and the public interest. The relevant regulations of the state pay the fee for use.
Article 14 If the software developed by a citizen during the period of service of the unit is the result of the performance of his or her own job, that is, it is developed for the development goals clearly specified in his or her work, or is the result foreseen by his or her own work activity or a natural result. The copyright unit of the software.
If the software developed by a citizen is not the result of performing his/her job and is not directly related to the content of the work the developer is engaged in at the unit, and the physical and technical conditions of the unit are not used, the copyright of the software belongs to the developer himself.
Article 15 The term of protection of software copyrights is twenty-five years, ending on December 31 of the twenty-fifth year after the software was first published. Before the expiration of the protection period, software copyright holders may apply to the software registration authority for renewal for 25 years, but the maximum period of protection shall not exceed 50 years.
The period of protection of the developer's developer's identity is unlimited.
Article 16 During the period of protection of software copyrights, the successor of software copyright may inherit the rights provided for in items (3) and (4) of Article 9 of the Regulations in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "PRC Succession Law." .
The occurrence of inheritance activities does not change the term of protection of the software's rights.
Article 17 Within the period of protection of software copyrights, after the unit that enjoys the software copyright changes, the legitimate successor shall enjoy the rights of the software.
The unit that enjoys the software copyright changes, and does not change the term of protection of the software.
Article 18 During the term of protection of software copyrights, the copyright owner of the software or its assignee has the right to permit others to exercise the right to use as provided for in Article 9(3) of this Regulation. When the copyright owner or his assignee permits others to exercise the right of use, he may charge fees according to the agreement.
The licensing of software rights should be conducted in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations in China by signing and executing written contracts. The licensee shall exercise the right of use within the terms, conditions, scope and time stipulated in the contract.
The validity period of a license contract must not exceed 10 years at a time. The contract can be renewed upon expiration. Where the contract does not explicitly provide for an exclusive license, the licensed software rights shall be deemed as non-exclusive. The occurrence of the above license activity does not change the ownership of the software copyright.
Article 19 During the period of protection of software copyright, the holders of the right to use and the right to use the license provided for in items (3) and (4) of Article 9 of the Regulations may transfer the right to use and the right to use the license. others.
The transfer of software rights shall be conducted in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of our country by signing and executing written contracts. The occurrence of a transfer activity does not change the term of protection of the software copyright.
Article 20 After the expiration of the software copyright protection period, all other rights of the software will be terminated except for the developer's identity.
Those who meet one of the following requirements, in addition to the developer's right to identity, the rights of the software enter the public domain before the expiration of the protection period:
(1) The entity that owns the software copyright terminates without legal successor;
(2) The citizen who owns the copyright of the software dies without legal successor.
Article 21 Units and citizens legally holding copies of software shall enjoy the following rights without the consent of the copyright owner of the software:
(1) The software is loaded into the computer according to the needs of use;
(b) Make backup copies for archival purposes. However, these backup copies must not be made available to others in any way. Once the holder loses the right to hold the software, these backup copies must be completely destroyed;
(3) To make necessary modifications in order to use the software in an actual computer application environment or to improve its functional performance. However, unless otherwise agreed, the revised text may not be provided to any third party without the consent of the copyright owner of the software or its lawful transferee.
Article 22 A small amount of copying of software due to non-commercial purposes such as classroom teaching, scientific research, and official duties, etc., may not be compensated without the consent of the software copyright owner or its lawful transferee. . However, the name and developer of the software shall be described when used, and shall not infringe any other rights enjoyed by the copyright owner or its lawful transferee under this Regulation. After the copy is used, it shall be properly kept, withdrawn, or destroyed, and may not be used for any other purpose or provided to others.
Chapter III Registration Management of Computer Software
Article 23 The software published after the issuance of these Regulations may be registered with the software registration authority. After the registration is approved, the software registration authority will issue the registration certificate and make an announcement to the public.
Article 24. The registration of software copyrights with a software registration authority is a precondition for the administrative processing or litigation of software rights disputes under this Regulation.
The registration certificate issued by the software registration authority is a preliminary proof of the fact that the software copyright is valid or that is stated in the registration application document.
Article 25 When applying for registration, a software copyright owner shall submit:
(1) The software copyright registration form filled in as required;
(b) Software identification materials that meet the requirements.
Software copyright holders should also pay registration fees as required.
The specific management methods and fee standards for software registration are announced by the software registration authority.
Article 26 The registration of a software copyright may be revoked if it has one of the following circumstances:
(a) According to the final judicial decision:
(b) It has been confirmed that the main information provided in the registration of the application is untrue.
Article 27 Where software that has been registered, when the software right is transferred, the transferee shall file with the software registration management agency within three months after the formal signing of the transfer contract; otherwise, it cannot be used against third party infringement activities. .
Article 28 When a Chinese software copyright holder licenses or transfers the right of software developed in China to a foreigner, he/she shall report it to the competent authority of the State Council for approval and record it with the software registration authority.
Article 29 Staff members engaged in software registration and those who have worked in this position shall not use or disclose to the public other than the purpose of performing the registration management duties during the period of protection of the software copyright. The filing materials and relevant information submitted by the applicant at the time of registration.
Chapter IV Legal Liability
Article 30 Except for the circumstances stipulated in Articles 21 and 22 of these Regulations, if any of the following acts of infringement is committed, civil liability for stopping infringement, eliminating influence, public apology, compensation for losses, etc. And the administrative software of the national software copyright administration may confiscate the illegal gains, fines and other administrative penalties:
(1) To publish its software works without the consent of the software copyright owner:
(2) to publish software developed by others as his own work;
(3) to use the software developed in cooperation with others as a work that he has completed independently without the consent of the collaborators;
(4) Signing or altering the signatures of software developed by others on software developed by others;
(5) modifying, translating, and annotating its software works without the consent of the software copyright owner or its lawful transferee;
(6) copying or partially reproducing its software works without the consent of the software copyright owner or its lawful transferee;
(7) distributing and displaying copies of its software to the public without the consent of the software copyright owner or its lawful transferee;
(8) To handle the licensing or transfer of its software to any third party without the consent of the software copyright owner or its lawful transferee.
Article 31. The software developed as a result of one of the following circumstances is similar to the existing software and does not constitute an infringement upon the copyright of already existing software:
(1) As it is necessary to implement relevant national policies, laws, regulations and rules;
(ii) Due to the need to implement national technical standards;
(c) Due to the limited number of available forms of expression.
Article 32 The software holder does not know or has a reasonable basis to know that the software is an infringing article, and its liability for infringement is borne by the provider of the infringing software. However, if the infringing software it holds is not destroyed to protect the rights of software copyright holders, the holder is obligated to destroy the infringing software it holds. The losses suffered from this can be reimbursed to the provider of the infringing software.
The providers of infringing software referred to in the preceding paragraph include those who knowingly have infringed software and provide it to others.
Article 33 Where the parties fail to perform the contractual obligations or perform the contractual obligations without meeting the agreed conditions, they shall bear civil liability in accordance with the relevant provisions of the General Principles of the Civil Law.
Article 34. Software copyright infringement disputes may be settled. If mediation fails or if one party retaliates after reaching an agreement through mediation, it may file a lawsuit in a people's court. If the parties are unwilling to mediate, they can also directly sue in the people's court.
Article 35 Software copyright contract disputes may be settled through mediation, and may also be submitted to the national software copyright arbitration institution for arbitration in accordance with the arbitration clause in the contract or a written arbitration agreement reached afterwards.
For arbitral awards, the parties shall perform. If one of the parties fails to perform the arbitral award, the other party may apply to the people's court for enforcement.
If the people's court to which the application is found finds the arbitral award illegal, it shall have the right not to enforce it. If the people’s court refuses to enforce it, the parties may file a lawsuit in a people’s court with respect to the contract dispute.
If the parties fail to enter into an arbitration clause in the contract and there is no written arbitration agreement afterwards, they may directly file a lawsuit in the people's court.
Article 36 If a party is dissatisfied with the administrative penalties of the national software copyright administration department, it may file a lawsuit in the people's court within three months from the date of receipt of the notification. If the company fails to perform or prosecute at the end of its term, the national software copyright administration authority may apply to the people's court for enforcement.
Article 37 Where a staff member of a software registration administration institution violates Article 29 of these Regulations, the software registration management institution or the competent department at a higher level shall impose administrative sanctions. Where the circumstances are serious and constitute a crime, the judicial organ shall investigate the criminal liability according to law.
Chapter V Supplementary Provisions
Article 38 The infringement that took place prior to the implementation of this Regulation shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions when the infringement occurred.
Article 39 This Regulation shall be interpreted by the State Council’s administrative department in charge of software registration management and software copyright.
Article 40 These Regulations shall come into effect on October 1, 1991.