Patents and copyright play an undeniably important role in business growth and progress as they ensure the innovators (that work behind the scenes) get their due credit. After all, nobody wants to devote months of their lives to create a revolutionary software program only to have it stolen by a competitor.
The same holds true for software development in the People’s Republic of China. Although this copyright rule varies from that in other parts of the world, the intention of this legislation remains the same; to give the developer creative control over their project and encourage developers to create new and innovative solutions.
Today, we’ll be taking a closer look at how the software copyright protection law works in China and how can you protect your intellectual property from piracy and bootlegging in the country.
Software Copyright Protection in China:
The Chinese government highly encourages software innovation in the country. This is why it has stringent regulations in place that promote software innovation!
Generally speaking, software copyright protection in China can be divided into 3 steps, namely;
1.
The Copyright Registration of the Software,
2.
The Exclusive License Contract of the Software, and
3.
Transfer Contact Registration.
What Powers do Intellectual Owners Hold?
The Computer Software Protection Ordinance gives the user endless incentives that make creating robust and reliable innovative software in the country a fruitful endeavor. As a registered software copyright owner, you get the following perks,
1. The Right of Expression:
The right of expression essentially means that the registered copyright owner makes the call whether or not their software program goes public. If the copyright owner makes a decision that goes against the counsel of his advisors, the owner’s wishes must be respected.
2. The Right of Authorship:
The right of authorship entails the copyright owner’s right to disclose the identity of the developer.
3. The Right to Use:
As the name suggests, this legal right enables the copyright holder(s) to determine how their program can be used by the end-user.
4. The Right to License:
The right to license essentially defines the conditions of usage for the end-user. Simply put, this dictates whether the end-user will get full control over the software or merely just a part of it.
5. The Right to Transfer:
As the name suggests, the right of transfer enables the copyright owner to transfer (i.e. sell or lease) the copyright to a third-party.
How to Distribute Copyrighted Software in China?
There are numerous legislations that govern the rightful distribution of a copyrighted property in the People’s Republic of China. The following conditions must be met before a copyright owner can distribute a software program in the country:
1.
A Complete Record of the Software Testing Report
2.
The Software Copyright Registration Certificate
3.
A Legal Record of the Registration of the Software
4.
A Translation of the User-Manual in Standard Mandarin (if the instruction manual exceeds 60 pages then the copyright holder can provide just the first 30 pages and the last 30 pages).
Apart from these prerequisites, there are other legal requirements that must be met before you can distribute your intellectual property in the country. Owing to the sheer number (and the complexity) of these legal requirements, we urge you to get in touch with an experienced company that can help your business through the process.
If you’re looking for
software copyright protection companies in China, Business China would love to help. Apart from copyright registration services, we also offer company incorporation and management services to foreigners.
Get in touch now to find out how we can be of service to your firm!
