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	INTERPRETATIONS OF THE SUPREME PEOPLE'S COURT ON THE APPLICATION OF LAW IN THE TRIAL OF CASES OF COPYRIGHT DISPUTES OVER COMPUTER NETWORK (2006 REVISION)

	(Interpretation No. 11 [2006] of the Supreme People's Court, November 22, 2006: Adopted at the 1144th meeting of the Sentencing Committee of the Supreme People's Court on November 22, 2000; amended according to the Decision of the Supreme People's Court on Amending the Interpretations on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases Involving Copyright Disputes over Computer Network passed at the 1302nd Session of the Sentencing Committee of the Supreme People's Court for the first time on December 23, 2003; amended according to the Decision of the Supreme People's Court on Amending the Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases Involving Copyright Disputes over Computer Network (II) for the second time on November 20, 2006 and shall come into force as of December 8, 2006. The 2nd amendments are as follows: In accordance with Article 58 of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China and the provisions of the Regulation on the Protection of the Right to Network Dissemination of Information, Article 3 of the Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases Involving Copyright Disputes over Computer Network shall be deleted)


SUBJECT : LEGAL INTERPRETATION; COPYRIGHT DISPUTES OVER COMPUTER NETWORK
ISSUING DEPARTMENT : THE SUPREME PEOPLE'S COURT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
ISSUE DATE : 11/22/2006
IMPLEMENT DATE : 12/08/2006
LENGTH : 832 words
TEXT :

In order to correctly try the cases of copyright disputes over computer network, according to Civil Law, Copyright Law and the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law and other related laws, the application of law for those cases are interpreted as follows:

Article 1. A case involving copyright disputes over computer network shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the people's court of the place of infringement act or that at the domicile of the defendant. The place of infringement act includes the place where such equipments by which the sued infringement act is committed as internet server or computer terminal are located. Where it is difficult to determine the place of the infringement act or the domicile of the defendant, the place where the equipments, in which the infringement content is discovered by the plaintiff, such as a computer terminal, is located may be deemed as the place of infringement act.

Article 2. Works protected by the Copyright Law shall include the digital form of various works prescribed in Article 3 of the Copyright Law. As for other intellectual creations, which cannot be included in the scope of works listed in Article 3 of the Copyright Law under the network environment, but have originality in the fields of literature, arts, or science, and can be copied in a certain physical form, the people's court shall protect them.

Article 3. In case an Internet Service Provider is involved in any other person's act of infringement on copyright through the network, or abets any other person to commit or assists any other person in committing an act of copyright infringement, the people's court shall subject the Internet Service Provider and other doers or persons directly committing the infringement act to the contributory infringement liabilities according to the provisions of Article 130 of the General Principles of the Civil Law.

Article 4. In case an Internet Service Provider providing content services is aware of the internet users' act of infringement on any other people's copyright through the network, or has been warned by the copyright owner with good evidences, but fails to take measures such as removing the infringement contents so as to eliminate the consequences of the infringement, the people's court shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 130 of the General Principles of the Civil Law, impose contributory infringement liabilities on the Internet Service Provider and the internet users.

Article 5. In case a copyright owner requests an Internet Service Provider providing content services to provide the information of the person committing an infringement act registered on its network so as to subject him to infringement liability, but the Internet Service Provider refuses to do so without justifiable reasons, the people's court shall subject it to the corresponding infringement liabilities according to the provisions of Article 106 of the General Principles of the Civil Law.

Article 6. Where an Internet Service Provider knowingly uploads, transmits or provides methods, equipments or materials which are specially used for willfully evading or destroying the technical measures for protecting the copyrights of other people, the people's court shall, on the basis of the allegations made by the parties concerned and the details of the cases, and in accordance with the provision of Item (6) of Article 47 of the Copyright Law, subject the Internet Service Provider to the civil legal liabilities for infringement.

Article 7. Where an owner of copyright finds out the infringement information and gives warnings to the Internet Service Provider or asks for the information of the person committing the infringement act registered on its network, but fails to produce a certificate of identity, certificate of the ownership of copyright, or the evidences on infringement, it shall be deemed as failure to give warnings or make claims.

Where, after a copyright owner showing the above-mentioned certificates, the Internet Service Provider still fails to take measures, the copyright owner may plead the people's court to order it to stop the relevant acts or take measures for property preservation or preservation of evidences before trial in accordance with the provisions of Articles 49 and 50 of the Copyright Law, or may plead the people's court to order it to stop the infringement acts, removing the impediments or eliminate influences beforehand at the time of lodging a complaint, and the people's court shall give permission to its pleading.

Article 8. Where an Internet Service Provider takes measures to remove the sued infringement contents after being warned by the owner of copyright with good evidences, and the person accused of committing infringement act demands the Internet Service Provider to undertake the liabilities for breach of contract, the people's court shall not support.

In case the owner of copyright gives a false accusation on the infringement, and the person being accused of committing an infringement act claims compensation for his losses incurred due to the measures taken by the Internet Service Provider, the people's court shall order the person giving warnings to undertake the liabilities for compensation.