COPYRIGHT ACT OF 2003
[Translation]
1. 40 Articles adopted and promulgated in full on 14 May 1928 by Order No. 212 of the National Government.
2. 37 Articles amended and promulgated in full on 27 April 1944 by Order Yu-Wen-Tzu No. 251 of the National Government.
3. Articles 30, 31, 32, 33, and 34 amended and promulgated by Presidential order on 13 January 1949.
4. Articles 30, 31, 32, 36, and 41 newly adopted by Presidential order on 10 July 1964; original Articles 22-29 became Articles 23-30; original Articles 30-32 became Articles 33-35; original Articles 33-36 became Articles 37-40; original Article37 became Article 42; and Articles 25, 26, 33, 35, 37-40 amended.
5. 52 Articles amended and promulgated in full on 10 July 1985 by Presidential Order No. (74) Hua-Tzung-(1)-Yi-Tzu 3318.
6. Articles 50-51 newly adopted and promulgated and Articles 3, 28 and 39 amended and promulgated on 24 January 1990 by Presidential Order No. (79) Hua-Tzung-(1)-Yi-Tzu 0427.
7. 117 Articles amended and promulgated in full on 10 June 1992 by Presidential Order No. (81) Hua-Tzung-(1)-Yi-Tzu 2805.
8. Article 53 amended and promulgated on 6 July 1992 by Presidential Order No. (81) Hua-Tzung-(1)-Yi-Tzu 3285.
9. Article 87 amended and promulgated and Article 87-1 newly adopted and promulgated on 24 April 1993 by Presidential Order No. (82) Hua-Tzung-(1)-Yi-Tzu 1841.
10. 117 Articles amended and promulgated in full on 21 January 1998 by Presidential Order No. (87) Hua-Tzung-(1)-Yi-Tzu 87000126405.
11. Articles 2, 34, 37, 71, 81, 82, and 90-1 amended and promulgated on 12 November 2001 by Presidential Order No. (81) Hua-Tzung-(1)-Yi-Tzu 2805.
12. Articles 26bis, 28bis,
59bis, Chapter
IVbis
(chapter name), 80bis, 82bis to 82quinquies, 90quater, 91bis, 96bis, 96ter, and
98bis
newly adopted and promulgated, and
Articles 2, 3, 7bis, 22, 24, 26, 29, 37, 49, 50, 53, 56, 56bis, 60, 61, 63, 65,
69, 79, 82, 87, 88, 91 to 95, 98, 100 to 102, 105, 106, 106ter, 106quater, 111,
113, 115bis, 115ter, and 117 amended and promulgated, on 9 July 2003 by
Presidential Order No. (92) Hua-Tzung-(1)-Yi-Tzu 09200122700.
This Act is specifically enacted for the purposes
of protecting the rights and interests of authors with respect to their works,
balancing different interests for the common good of society, and promoting the
development of national culture. Matters not provided for herein shall be
governed by the provisions of other acts.
The competent authority under this Act is the
Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs shall appoint a specialized agency in charge of copyright matters.
For the purposes of this Act the following definitions shall apply:
1.
"Work" means a creation that is within a literary, scientific,
artistic, or other intellectual domain.
2. "Author" means a person who creates a work.
3.
"Copyright" means the moral rights and economic rights subsisting in a
completed work.
4.
"The public" or "a public" means unspecified persons or
multiple specified persons; provided, this does not apply to multiple persons of
a household and the household's normal social acquaintances.
5.
"Reproduce" means to reproduce directly, indirectly, permanently, or
temporarily a work by means of printing, reprography, sound recording, video
recording, photography, handwritten notes, or otherwise. This definition also
applies to the sound recording or video recording of scripts, musical works, or
works of similar nature during their performance or broadcast, and also includes
the construction of an architectural structure based on architectural plans or
models.
6.
"Public recitation" means to communicate the content of a work to the
public by spoken words or other means.
7.
"Public broadcast" means to communicate to the public the content of a
work through sounds or images by means of transmission of information by a
broadcasting system of wire, wireless, or other equipment, where such
communication is for the purpose of direct listening reception or viewing
reception by the public. This includes any communication, by transmission of
information via a broadcasting system of wire, wireless, or other equipment, to
the public of an original broadcast of sounds or images by any person other than
the original broadcaster.
8.
"Public presentation" means to use single- or multiple-unit
audiovisual devices, or other methods of transmitting images, to simultaneously
communicate the content of a work to the public at the place of transmission or
at a specified place outside the place of transmission.
9.
"Public performance" means to act, dance, sing, play a musical
instrument, or use other means to communicate the content of a work to a public
that is present at the scene. This includes any communication to the public of
an original broadcast of sounds or images through loudspeakers or other
equipment.
10. "Public transmission" means to make
available or communicate to the public the content of a work through sounds or
images by wire or wireless network, or through other means of communication,
including enabling the public to receive the content of such work by any of the
above means at a time or place individually chosen by them.
11.
"Adaptation" means to create another work based upon a pre-existing
work by translation, musical arrangement, revision, filming, or other means.
12.
"Distribution" means, with or without compensation, to provide the
original of a work, or a copy thereof, to the public for the purpose of trade or
circulation.
13. "Public display" means to display the
content of a work to the public.
14.
"Publication" means to distribute a sufficient number of copies of a
work by the rights holder to satisfy a reasonable level of public demand.
15.
"Public release" means to publicly issue of the
contents of a work to the public, by the rights holder, through
publication, broadcast, presentation, recitation, performance, display, or other
means.
16. "The original" or "an
original" means the object to which a work is first fixed.
17.
"Electronic rights management information" means electronic
information presented on the original or copies of a work, or at the time of
communication of content of a work to the public, sufficient to identify the
work, the name of the work, the author, the economic rights holder or person
licensed thereby, and the period or conditions of exploitation of the work,
including numbers or symbols that represent such information.
"Place of transmission or at a
specified place outside the place of transmission" as referred to in
subparagraph 8 of the preceding paragraph includes motion picture cinemas,
clubs, places where videocassetes or videodiscs are presented, hotel rooms,
public transportation vehicles, or other places that may be accessed by
unspecified persons.
Article 4
Works of foreign nationals that comply with one of
the following conditions may enjoy copyright under this Act; provided, where the
terms of a treaty or an agreement that has been ratified by resolution of the
Legislative Yuan provide otherwise, such terms shall govern:
1.Works
that are first published in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Republic
of China, or are published in the territory under the jurisdiction of the
Republic China within thirty days after their first publication in territory
outside the jurisdiction of the Republic China; provided, this shall only apply
where the country of such foreign national extends protection under identical
circumstances to the works of persons of the Republic of China, and such
protection has been verified.
2.Where
by treaty or agreement, or under the domestic acts, regulations, or standard
practice of the home country of the foreign national, works of persons of the
Republic of China enjoy copyright in such country.
For
the purposes of this Act,
"works" shall include the following:
1. Oral and literary works.
2. Musical works.
3. Dramatic and choreographic works.
4. Artistic
works.
5. Photographic works.
6. Pictorial
and graphical works.
7. Audiovisual works.
8. Sound recordings.
9. Architectural works.
10.Computer programs.
The examples and content of each category of works
set forth in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the competent
authority.
A creation adapted from one or more pre-existing works is a derivative work and shall be protected as an independent work.
Protection of a derivative work shall not affect the copyright in the pre-existing work.
A compilation work is a work formed by the creative selection and arrangement of materials, and shall be protected as an independent work.
Protection of a compilation work shall not affect
the copyright in the work from which the material was selected and arranged.
A performance by a performer of a pre-existing work or folklore shall be protected as an independent work.
Protection of a performance shall not affect the copyright in the pre-existing work.
A joint work is a work that has been completed by two or more persons where the creation of each person cannot be separately exploited.
The following items shall not be the subject matter of copyright:
1. The
constitution, acts, regulations, or official documents.
2.
Translations or compilations by central or local government agencies of
works referred to in the preceding subparagraph.
3. Slogans and common symbols, terms, formulas, numerical charts, forms, notebooks, or almanacs.
4.
Oral and literary works for news reports that are intended strictly to
communicate facts.
5.
Test questions and alternative test questions from all kinds of
examinations held pursuant to laws or regulations.
The term "official documents" in the
first subparagraph of the preceding paragraph includes proclamations, text of
speeches, news releases, and other documents prepared by civil servants in the
course of carrying out their duties.
The author of a work shall enjoy copyright upon completion of the work; provided, where this Act provides otherwise, such provisions shall govern.
Protection
for copyright that has been obtained in accordance with this Act shall only
extend to the expression of the work in question, and shall not extend to the
work's underlying ideas, procedures, production processes, systems, methods of
operation, concepts, principles, or discoveries.
Where a work is completed by an employee within the scope of employment, such employee is the author of the work; provided, where an agreement stipulates that the employer is the author, such agreement shall govern.
Where the employee is the author of a work pursuant
to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the economic rights to such work
shall be enjoyed by the employer; provided, where an agreement stipulates that
the economic rights shall be enjoyed by the employee, such agreement shall
govern.
The term "employee" in the preceding two paragraphs includes civil servants.
Where a work is completed by a person under commission, except in the circumstances set out in the preceding article, such commissioned person is the author of the work; provided, where an agreement stipulates that the commissioning party is the author, such agreement shall govern.
Where the commissioned person is the author
pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, enjoyment of the economic
rights to such work shall be assigned through contractual stipulation to either
the commissioning party or the commissioned person. Where no stipulation
regarding the enjoyment of economic rights has been made, the economic rights
shall be enjoyed by the commissioned person.
Where the economic rights are enjoyed by the commissioned person pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the commissioning party may exploit the work.
Where a person's name or a pseudonym familiar to the public is represented in a normal way as the author on the original of a work, or on a published copy of the work, or in connection with a public release of a work, the person shall be presumed to be the author of the work.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall
apply mutatis mutandis to presumptions concerning the date and place of
publication of a work as well as the ownership of economic rights therein.
(deleted)
The author of a work shall enjoy the right to
publicly release the work; provided, this shall not apply to a civil servant
where, pursuant to the provisions of Article 11 or 12, such person is the author
while the juristic person employing such author enjoys the economic rights to
the work.
In the following circumstances the author shall be presumed to have consented to the public release of the work:
1.
Where, prior to publicly releasing its work, the author has transferred,
or licensed to exploit, the economic rights to the work, and the work is
publicly released as a consequence of the exercise or exploitation of the
economic rights.
2. Where, prior to the public release of a artistic work or a photographic work, the author transfers the original or a copy of such work to another party and the transferee publicly displays the original or copy of the work.
3.
Where the work is a Masters thesis or doctoral dissertation written under
the "Degree Conferral Act
" and the author has obtained a degree.
Where, in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph 2 of Article 11 or paragraph 2 of Article 12, an employer or a
commissioning party, ab initio, obtained economic rights to a work that has
never been publicly released, and where such work is publicly released in
conjunction with the transfer, exercise, or exploitation of the economic rights
of such work, the author shall be deemed to have consented to the public release
of the work.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to paragraph 3 of Article 12.
The author of a work
shall have the right to indicate its name, a pseudonym, or no name on the
original or copies of the work, or when the work is publicly released. The
author has the same right to a derivative work based on its work.
The proviso in the first paragraph of the preceding article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the preceding paragraph.
The person exploiting a work
may use its own cover design and may add the name or appellation of the designer
or editor-in-chief; provided this shall not apply where the author has
specifically indicated to the contrary, or where the addition would deviate from
commonly accepted practices.
Where the purpose and method of
exploitation neither present any likelihood of harm to the author's interests
nor deviate from commonly accepted practices, the author's name or appellation
may be omitted.
The author has the right to
prohibit others from distorting, mutilating, modifying, or otherwise changing
the content, form, or name of the work, thereby damaging the author's
reputation.
The protection of moral rights
of an author who has died or been extinguished shall be deemed to be the same as
when the author was living or in existence and shall not be infringed upon by
any person; provided, the act shall not constitute an infringement where it can
be considered that the author's intent has not been contravened given the nature
and degree of the act of exploitation, social changes, or other circumstances.
Moral rights in a joint work may not be exercised without the consent of all the joint authors. A joint author shall not refuse consent without a legitimate reason.
Authors of a joint work may
select an author from among the joint authors to be their representative for the
purpose of exercising moral rights.
Limitations imposed on the
representative powers of the representative referred to in the preceding
paragraph shall not be effective against a third party acting in good faith.
The original of a work that has
not been publicly released and the economic rights therein shall not be the
object of compulsory execution unless they are the object of a trade or the
principal has given its consent.
Moral rights belong exclusively to the author and shall not be transferred or succeeded.
Except as otherwise provided under this Act, authors have the exclusive right to reproduce their works.
Performers have the exclusive
right to reproduce their performances by means of sound recording, video
recording, or photography.
The provisions of the preceding
two paragraphs do not apply to temporary reproduction that is transient,
incidental, an essential part of a technology process, and without independent
economic significance, where solely for the purpose of network relay
transmission, or for the use of a lawful work; provided, this shall not apply to
computer programs.
In the preceding paragraph, the
phrase "temporary reproduction… for the purpose of network relay
transmission" includes technically unavoidable phenomena of the computer or
machine occurring in network browsing, caching, or other processes for enhancing
transmission efficiency.
Authors of oral and literary works have the exclusive right to publicly recite their works.
Except as otherwise provided in
this Act, authors have the exclusive right to publicly broadcast their works.
The provisions of the preceding
paragraph shall not apply to further public broadcasts of a performance after
that performance has been reproduced or publicly broadcast.
Article 25
Authors of audiovisual works
have the exclusive right to publicly present their works.
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, authors of oral and literary, musical, and dramatic/choreographic works have the exclusive right to publicly perform their works.
Performers have the exclusive
right, by means of loudspeakers or other equipment, to publicly perform their
performances; provided, this shall not apply to public performances of a
performance by means of loudspeakers or other equipment after that performance
has been reproduced or publicly broadcast.
Where a sound recording has
been publicly performed, the author may claim payment of remuneration for use
from the persons who publicly performed it.
If the sound recording under
the preceding paragraph is a recording of a live performance, the author and the
performer of the recorded work shall jointly claim payment of compensation for
use. Where one of them makes such claim first, it shall distribute
to the other its share of the remuneration.
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, authors of works have the exclusive right of public transmission of their works.
Performers have the exclusive
right of public transmission of their performances reproduced in sound
recordings.
Authors
of unpublished fine arts or photographic works have the exclusive right to
publicly display the original and copies of their works.
Authors of works have the exclusive right to adapt their works into derivative works or to compile their works into compilation works; provided, this shall not apply to performances.
Article
28bis
Except as otherwise provided in
this Act, authors of works have the exclusive right to distribute their works
through transfer of ownership.
Performers have the exclusive
right to distribute their performances reproduced in sound recordings through
transfer of ownership.
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, authors of works have the exclusive right to rent their works.
Performers
have the exclusive right to rent their performances reproduced in sound
recordings.
An employer or commissioning
party that has obtained the economic rights in a work in accordance with the
provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 11 or paragraph 2 of Article 12 shall have
exclusive enjoyment
of the rights set out in the provisions of Articles 22 through 29.
Subsection 2
Term of Protection for Economic Rights
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, economic rights endure for the life of the author and fifty years after the author's death.
Where a work is first publicly
released between the fortieth and fiftieth years after the author's death, the
economic rights shall endure for a term of ten years beginning from the time of
the first public release.
Economic rights in a
joint work subsist for fifty years after the death of the last surviving author.
Economic rights in a
pseudonymous work or an anonymous work endure for fifty years from the time of
public release; provided, the economic rights shall be extinguished where it can
be proven that the author has been deceased for over fifty years.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not apply when the pseudonym of the author is well known to the public.
Economic rights in works
authored by a juristic person endure for fifty years after the public release of
the work; provided, if the work is not publicly released within fifty years from
the completion of the creation, the economic
rights shall subsist for fifty years after completion of the creation.
Economic rights for photographic works, audiovisual works, sound recordings, and performances endure for fifty years after the public release of the work.
The proviso of the preceding article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the preceding paragraph.
All terms of duration specified in Articles 30 through 34 terminate as of the last day of the last year of the term.
Where the term of economic
rights for works released to the public continuously or successively is
calculated on the basis of the date of the public release of the work, if each
public release can constitute an independent work, the term of economic rights
of each work shall be calculated from the date of each public release; if each
public release cannot constitute an independent work, the term shall be
calculated from the date of the public release(s) that can constitute an
independent work.
With respect to the
circumstances described in the preceding paragraph, if the continuing part has
not been publicly released within three years of the date of public release of its
preceding part, the term of the economic rights shall be calculated from the
date of public release of its preceding part.
Economic rights may be transferred in whole or in part to another person and may be jointly owned with other persons.
The transferee of economic rights obtains economic rights within the scope of the transfer.
The scope of the transfer
of the economic rights shall be as stipulated by the parties; rights not clearly
covered by such stipulations shall be presumed to have not been
transferred.
The economic
rights holder may license others to exploit the work. The territory, term,
content, method of exploitation, and other particulars of the
license shall be as stipulated by the parties; particulars not clearly covered
by such stipulations shall be presumed to have not been licensed.
The license referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not be affected by subsequent assignment or further licensing of economic rights by the economic rights holder.
A non-exclusive licensee may not sublicense the rights inherent in the license to any third party for exploitation without the consent of the economic rights holder.
An exclusive
licensee may, within the scope of the license, exercise rights in the capacity
of economic rights holder, and may perform litigious acts in its own name. The
economic rights holder may not exercise rights within the scope of an exclusive
license.
The provisions of paragraphs 2
through 4 shall not apply to any license conferred prior to the implementation
of the November 12, 2001 amendment to this Act.
The provisions of Chapter VII shall not apply where musical works are licensed for reproduction on computer karaoke machines and an exploiter uses such a karaoke machine to publicly perform the works; provided, this shall not apply in the case of musical works managed by copyright intermediary organizations.
(deleted)
Where economic rights are the
object of a pledge, unless otherwise stipulated at the time the pledge is
created, the economic rights holder may exercise the economic
rights to the work.
In the case of a joint
work, each author's share of the ownership of such a work shall be as stipulated
by the joint authors; where no stipulation has been made, ownership shares shall
be determined according to the degree of each author's creative contribution.
Where the degree of each author's creative contribution is not clear, it shall
be presumed that each author owns an equal share.
Where an author of a joint work
abandons its share of the ownership of the work, that share shall be apportioned
among the other joint authors in proportion to their respective shares.
The provisions of the preceding
paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis where the author of a joint work dies
with no successor or is extinguished
with no receiver.
Joint economic rights in a work
shall not be exercised except with the consent of all the joint economic rights
holders; no economic rights holder shall transfer its share to another person or
establish a pledge of its share in favor of a third party without the consent of
all other joint economic rights holders. A joint economic rights holder shall
not refuse consent without a legitimate reason.
The joint economic rights
holders of a work may select a representative from among themselves to exercise
their economic rights. Limitations imposed on the representative powers of such
representative shall not be effective against a third party acting in good
faith.
The second and third paragraphs of the preceding article shall apply mutatis mutandis to joint ownership of economic rights.
Where
an economic rights holder makes a submission to a
newspaper or magazine, or licenses the public broadcast of the work,
it shall be presumed, unless otherwise stipulated, that the economic rights
holder has licensed one printing or one public broadcast only, and that said
printing or broadcast shall have no effect on other rights belonging to the
economic rights holder.
Article
42
Economic rights are extinguished upon expiration of the term of protection. Economic rights are also extinguished where any of the following circumstances occurs during the term of protection:
1.
The economic rights holder has died and the
economic rights, for that reason, divest by act to the national treasury.
2. The economic rights
holder is a juristic person that has been extinguished and the economic rights,
for that reason, divest by act to a local government.
Article
43
Except as otherwise
provided by this Act, any person may freely exploit a work for which the
economic rights have been extinguished.
Subsection
4 Limitations on Economic
Rights
Within a reasonable
scope, central or local government agencies may reproduce the work of another
person if it is considered necessary for internal reference for the purpose of
legislation or administration; provided, this shall not apply where such reproduction would
prejudice the interests of the economic rights holder due to the type and use of
the work and the volume and method of reproduction.
Within a reasonable scope, and for the sole purpose of use necessary to judicial proceedings, the works of another person may be reproduced.
The
proviso of the preceding article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the
circumstances set forth in the preceding paragraph.
Within a reasonable
scope, and where necessary for the purpose of teaching in schools, all levels of
legally established schools and their teachers may reproduce the works of
another person which have already been publicly released.
The proviso of Article 44 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the circumstances set forth in the preceding paragraph.
Within a reasonable
scope, and for the purpose of preparing pedagogical texts for which review and
approval by an education administrative agency is required by act or regulation,
or where an education administrative agency prepares pedagogical texts itself,
the works of another person that have been publicly released may be reproduced,
adapted, or compiled.
The provisions of the preceding
paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to the preparation of supplementary
teaching aids which are ancillary to the aforesaid textbooks and which are
exclusively provided to teachers for teaching purposes; provided, this shall be
limited to editing by the preparer of such textbooks.
Within a reasonable scope and
for the purpose of meeting educational needs, all levels of legally established
schools and educational institutions may publicly broadcast the works of another person
that have been publicly released.
In the circumstances set
forth in the preceding three paragraphs the exploiter of the work shall notify
the economic rights holder and pay compensation for use. The level of
compensation shall be set by the competent authority.
Article
48
Libraries, museums, history
museums, science museums, art museums, and other cultural institutions open to
the public may reproduce works in their collections in any of the following
circumstances:
1.Where a patron requests reproduction of a part of a work that has been publicly
released, or a single article from a seminar paper or a single article from a
periodical that has been publicly released, provided that the copy is for
personal research purposes and is limited to one copy per person.
2.Where necessary to preserve materials.
3.Where the works in question are out of print or difficult to purchase, and have
been requested by another similar institute.
Article
48bis
Central or local
government agencies, educational agencies that have been established by law, or
libraries open to the public may reproduce abstracts appended to the following
works where such works have been publicly released:
1.Masters theses or doctoral dissertations written under the "Degree
Conferral Act," where the author has obtained a degree.
2.Academic papers published in periodicals.
3.Research reports or collections of seminar papers that have been publicly
released.
When reporting current events by means of broadcasting, photography, film, newspaper, network, or otherwise, works that are seen or heard in the course of the report may be exploited within the scope necessary to the report.
Works publicly released in the name of a central or local government agency or a public juristic person may, within a reasonable scope, be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted.
Within a reasonable
scope, where for nonprofit use by an individual or a family, a work that has
been publicly released may be reproduced by a machine that is either located in
a library or is not provided for public use.
Article
52
Within a reasonable
scope, works that have been publicly released may be quoted where necessary for
reports, comment, teaching, research, or other legitimate purposes.
Works that have been
publicly released may be reproduced in Braille or with accompanying sign
language translation or text for the visually impaired or the hearing impaired.
For the purpose of promoting the welfare of the
visually impaired or the hearing impaired, legally accredited non-profit institutions or organizations may, by means of sound
recordings, computers, verbal imagery, accompanying sign language translation,
or otherwise, exploit works that have been publicly released, for exclusive use
by the visually impaired or the hearing impaired.
Works that have been publicly released may be reproduced for use in examination questions on all kinds of examinations held by central or local government agencies and all levels of schools or educational institutions established in accordance with act; provided, this shall not apply to works that have been publicly released as examination questions.
The work of another person that has been publicly
released may be publicly recited, publicly broadcast, publicly presented, or
publicly performed in the course of an activity of non-profit nature, provided
that no fee is directly or indirectly collected from the viewers or listeners, and no
compensation is given to the performers.
For the purposes of public broadcasting, a radio or
television broadcasting organization may, with its own equipment, sound record
or video record a work; provided, this shall be limited to situations where the
public broadcasting has been licensed by the economic rights holder,
or situations otherwise comporting with the provisions of this Act.
Except where preservation of the recording referred to in the preceding paragraph has been approved for a designated place by the specialized agency in charge of copyright matters, such sound or video recordings shall be destroyed within six months from the time of recording.
For the purpose of enhancing receiving effect, a community antenna installed in accordance with act may simultaneously rebroadcast works broadcast by wireless television stations established in accordance with act; the form and content of such broadcasts shall not be changed.
Article
57
The owner of the original legal copy of an artistic
work or photographic work, or a person authorized by the owner, may publicly display such original or legal copy of
the work.
The public displayer referred to in the preceding paragraph may reproduce the work in a descriptive writing in order to provide viewers with an explanation or introduction.
Artistic works or
architectural works displayed on a long-term basis on streets, in parks, on
outside walls of buildings, or other outdoor locales open to the public, may be
exploited by any means except under the following circumstances:
1.Reproduction of a building by construction of another building.
2.Reproduction of a work of sculpture by production of another sculpture.
3.Reproduction for the purpose of long-term
public display in locales specified in this article.
4.Reproduction of artistic works solely for the purpose of selling copies.
The owner of a legal copy
of a computer program may alter the program where necessary for utilization on a
machine used by such owner, or may reproduce the program as necessary for
backup; provided, this is limited to the owner's personal use.
If the owner referred to in the
preceding paragraph loses ownership of the original copy for any reason other
than the destruction or loss of the copy, all altered and backup copies shall be
destroyed unless the economic rights holder grants its consent otherwise.
Article 59bis
A person who has obtained
ownership of the original of a work or a lawful copy thereof within the
territory under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China may distribute it by
means of transfer of ownership.
Owners of originals of
works and lawful copies of works may rent such original works or copies;
provided, this shall not apply to sound recordings and computer programs.
The proviso of the preceding
paragraph shall not apply to copies of computer programs incorporated in
products, machinery, or equipment to be legally rented, where such copies do not
constitute the essential object of such rental.
Article
61
Commentary
on current political, economic, or social events that has appeared in a
newspaper, magazine, or network may be republished by other newspapers or
magazines, or be publicly broadcast by radio or television, or publicly
transmitted on a network; provided, this shall not apply where there is
indication that republishing, public broadcast, or public transmission is not
authorized.
Public speeches on politics
or religion, and public statements made in legal
proceedings or during proceedings of central or local government agencies, may
be exploited by any person; provided, consent of the economic rights holder
shall be obtained when compiling a compilation work that is dedicated to the
speeches or statements of specified persons.
Persons that may exploit the
work of another person in accordance with the provisions of Article 44, Article
45, subparagraph one of Article 48, Articles 48bis through 50, Articles 52
through 55, Article 61, and Article 62 may translate such work.
Persons that may exploit the work of another person in accordance with the provisions of Articles 46 and 51 may adapt such work.
Persons that may exploit the work of another person in accordance with the provisions of Articles 46 through 50, Articles 52 through 54, paragraph 2 of Article 57, Article 58, Article 61, and Article 62 may distribute such work.
A person who exploits the
work of another person pursuant to the provisions of Articles 44 through 47,
Articles 48bis through 50, Article 52, Article 53, Article 55, Article 57,
Article 58, and Articles 60 through 63 shall provide a clear indication of the
source of the work.
The "clear indication of
the source" referred to in the preceding paragraph shall indicate the name
or appellation of the author in a reasonable manner, except where the work is
anonymous or the author is not known.
Fair use of a work shall
not constitute infringement on economic rights in the work.
In determining whether the
exploitation of a work complies with the provisions of Articles 44 through 63,
or other conditions of fair use, all circumstances shall be taken into account,
and in particular the following facts shall be noted as the basis for
determination:
1.The purposes and
nature of the exploitation, including whether such exploitation is of a
commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes.
2.The nature of the work.
3.The amount and
substantiality of the portion exploited
in relation to the work as a whole.
4.Effect of the exploitation on the work's current and potential market value.
Where the copyright owner
organization and the exploiter organization have formed an agreement on the
scope of the fair use of a work, it may be taken as reference in the
determination referred to in the preceding paragraph.
In the course of forming an
agreement referred to in the preceding paragraph, advice may be sought from the
specialized agency in charge of copyright matters.
The provisions of Articles 44 through 63 and Article 65 shall not affect the author's moral rights.
Article 67
(deleted)
(deleted)
Where a sound recording
of a musical work recorded for sale has been published for six months, a person
who wishes to exploit the aforementioned musical work to record and produce
other sound recordings for sale may apply to the specialized agency in charge of
copyright matters for a compulsory license, and after paying compensation, may exploit such musical
work and record and produce other sound recordings.
Regulations governing the compulsory license for a musical work referred to in the preceding paragraph, the method for calculating the compensation for exploitation, and other requisite matters shall be prescribed by the competent authority.
Copies of sound recordings which exploit musical works pursuant to the provisions of the preceding article shall not be sold outside of the territory under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China.
The specialized agency in
charge of copyright matters shall void approval for a compulsory license
obtained in accordance with the provisions of Article 69 if the application is
found to contain misrepresentations.
The specialized agency shall
void approval for a compulsory license obtained in accordance with the
provisions of Article 69 if the work
is not exploited in the manner approved by the specialized agency.
(deleted)
(deleted)
(deleted)
(deleted)
(deleted)
(deleted)
(deleted)
For a literary or
artistic work that has no economic rights or for which the economic rights have
been extinguished, a plate maker who arranges and prints the said literary work,
or in the case of an artistic work, a plate maker who photocopies, prints, or uses a similar method
of reproduction and first publishes such reproduction based on such original
artistic work, and duly records it in accordance with this Act, shall have the
exclusive right to photocopy, print, or use similar methods of reproduction
based on the plate.
The rights of the plate maker shall subsist for ten years from the time the plate is completed.
The last day of the term of protection referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be the last day of the last year of such term.
Assignment or placement in trust
of plate rights shall not be effective against third parties unless it has been
recorded.
The
regulations governing recordation of plate rights, recordation of assignment,
recordation of trust, and other requisite matters shall be prescribed by the
competent authority.
The provisions of Article 42 and Article 43
concerning the extinguishment of economic rights, and the provisions of Articles 44 through 48, Article 49, Article 51, Article 52,
Article 54, Article 64, and Article 65 concerning limitations on economic
rights, shall apply mutatis mutandis to plate rights.
Chapter
IVbis Electronic
Rights Management Information
Article 80bis
Electronic
rights management information made by a copyright owner shall not be removed or
altered; provided, this shall not apply in any of the following circumstances:
1.Where removal or alteration
of electronic rights management information of the work is unavoidable in the
lawful exploitation of the work given technological limitations at the time of
the act.
2.Where the removal or
alteration is technically necessary to conversion of a recording or transmission
system.
Whoever knows that electronic
rights management information of a work has been unlawfully removed or altered
shall not distribute or, with intent to distribute, import or possess the
original or any copy of such work. He/She also shall not publicly broadcast, publicly perform, nor publicly
transmit [the same].
Economic rights holders may, with the approval of the specialized agency in charge of copyright matters, establish copyright intermediary organizations for the purpose of exercising rights or for collecting and distributing compensation for use.
Exclusive licensees may also join copyright intermediary organizations.
The approval for establishment and the organization and capacities of the organizations referred to in paragraph 1, as well as the supervision and guidance thereof, shall be otherwise provided for by act.
The specialized agency in charge of copyright matters shall establish a Copyright Examination and Mediation Committee to handle the following matters:
1.Examination of rates of compensation for use
under the provisions of paragraph 4 of Article 47.
2.Mediation of disputes between copyright intermediary organizations and users
concerning compensation for use.
3.Mediation of disputes concerning copyright or plate rights.
4.Other consultation in connection with copyright examination and mediation.
Where mediation referred to in subparagraph 2 of
the preceding paragraph fails, the dispute shall be arbitrated in accordance
with act.
Dispute mediation referred to
in subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1, when involving criminal matters, shall be
limited to cases actionable only upon complaint.
Article
82bis
Within seven days of the date
of the conclusion of a mediation settlement, the specialized agency in charge of
copyright matters shall submit the written mediation
settlement statement for review by the court of jurisdiction.
The court shall review the
written mediation settlement statement referred to in the preceding paragraph
with due dispatch. Unless it is contrary to act or regulation, public order, or
good morals, or compulsory execution would be impossible, the judge shall sign
[copies] thereof and affix the seal of the court thereto, and shall return the
mediation settlement statement to the specialized agency in charge of copyright
matters for service to the parties, retaining one copy for its own records.
Where the court decides not to
ratify a mediation settlement statement, it
shall notify the specialized agency in charge of copyright matters of the
reasons.
Article
82ter
After a mediation settlement
has been ratified by a court, the parties shall not initiate any further public
or private prosecution or action with respect to the mediated matter.
A civil mediation settlement
ratified by a court as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall have the
same force as a final and unappealable court judgment in a civil case. With
respect to a criminal mediation settlement that has been ratified by a court,
where the subject matter is payment of a certain amount of money, or other
substitute therefore, or securities, the written mediation settlement statement
shall constitute a writ of execution.
Article
82quater
Where a civil mediation
settlement has been concluded, and then ratified by a court while the civil
action is under litigation, and where no final and unappealable court judgment
has yet been obtained, the civil action shall be deemed withdrawn as of the date
of the conclusion of the mediation settlement.
Where a criminal mediation
settlement has been concluded, and then ratified by a court while the criminal
case is in the investigation stage or before the conclusion of arguments in the
trial of first instance, and where the parties have agreed to withdraw the case,
the complaint or private prosecution shall be deemed withdrawn as of the date of
the conclusion of the mediation
settlement.
Article
82quinquies
Should there exist
any ground for invalidation or voidance of a civil mediation settlement after
ratification by a court, the parties may file an action with the original
ratifying court to invalidate or void the mediation settlement.
The action referred to in the
preceding paragraph shall be initiated by the parties within 30 days of service
of the written mediation settlement statement ratified by the court.
The organic charter for the Copyright Examination and Mediation
Committee referred to in Article 82, and the regulations concerning dispute
mediation, shall be drafted by the competent authority and promulgated after
review and approval by the Executive Yuan.
Article
84
The copyright holder or the plate rights holder may
demand removal of infringement of its rights. Where there is likelihood of
infringement, a demand may be made to prevent such infringement.
A person who infringes on the moral rights of an author shall be liable for damages. In the event of
non-pecuniary injury, the injured party may claim a commensurate amount of
compensation.
In infringement matters referred to in the
preceding paragraph the injured party may demand indication of the author's name
or appellation, correction of content, or adoption other
appropriate measures necessary for the restoration of its reputation.
After the death of the author, unless otherwise specified by a will, the following persons, in the order indicated, shall be entitled to request remedies in accordance with Article 84 and the second paragraph of the preceding article for actual or likely violations of Article 18:
1.Spouses
2.Children
3.Parents
4.Grandchildren
5.Brothers and sisters
6.Grandparents
Any of the following
circumstances, except as otherwise provided under this Act, shall be deemed an
infringement of copyright or plate rights:
1. (deleted)
2. Distribution of articles
that are known to infringe on plate rights, or public display or possession of
such articles with the intent to distribute.
3. Import of any copies
reproduced without the authorization of the economic rights holder or the plate
rights holder.
4.
Import of the original or any copies of a work without
the authorization of the economic rights holder.
5. Exploitation for business
purposes of a copy of a computer program that is known to infringe on economic
rights in such computer program.
6. Distribution, by any means
other than transfer of ownership or rental, articles that are known to infringe
on economic rights; or public display or possession, with the intent to
distribute, of articles that are known to infringe on economic rights.
The provisions of subparagraph
4 of the preceding article do not apply under any of the following
circumstances:
1. Where the original or copies
of a work are imported for the use of central or local government agencies;
provided, this does not apply to import for use in schools or other educational
institutions, or to the import of any audiovisual work for purposes other than
archival use.
2. Where the original or a
specified number of copies of any audiovisual works are imported in order to
supply such works to nonprofit scholarly, educational, or religious
organizations for archival purposes, or where an original or specified number of
copies of works other than audiovisual works are imported for library lending or
archival purposes, provided that such copies are used in compliance with the
provisions of Article 48.
3.
Where the original or a specified number of copies of
a work are imported for the private use of the importer, not for distribution,
or where such import occurs because the original or copies form part of the
personal baggage of a person arriving from outside the territory.
4. Where the original or copies
of a work incorporated into any legally imported goods, machinery, or equipment
are imported in conjunction with the import of such items. Such original or
copies of the work shall not be reproduced during the use or operation of the
goods, machinery or equipment.
5. Where a user's manual or
operating manual accompanying any legally imported goods, machinery, or
equipment is imported; provided, this does not apply where the user's manual or
operating manual are the principal objects of the importation.
The "specified
number" set forth in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of the preceding paragraph shall
be prescribed by the competent authority.
A person
who unlawfully infringes on another person's economic rights or plate rights out
of intention or negligence shall be liable for damages. Where multiple persons
engage in unlawful infringement, they shall bear joint and several liability for
damages.
With regard to the damages
referred to in the preceding paragraph, the injured party may make claim in any
of the following manners:
1. In accordance with the
provisions of Article 216 of the Civil Code; provided, when the injured party is
unable to prove damages, it may base the damages on the difference between the
amount of expected benefit from the exercise of such rights under normal
circumstances and the amount of benefit from the exercise of the same rights
after the infringement.
2. Based on the amount of
benefit obtained by the infringer on account of the infringing activity;
provided, where the infringer is unable to establish costs or necessary expenses [of the infringing act or articles], the
total revenue derived from the infringement shall be deemed to be its benefit.
If
it is difficult for the injured party to prove actual damages in accordance with
the provisions of the preceding paragraph,
it may request that the court, based on the seriousness of the matter, set
compensation at an amount of not less than ten thousand and not more than one
million New Taiwan Dollars. If the damaging activity was intentional and the
matter serious, the compensation may be increased to five million New Taiwan
Dollars.
Where claim is made pursuant to Article 84 or
paragraph 1 of the preceding Article, the injured party may request the destruction or other necessary disposition of goods produced
as a result of the infringing act, or of articles used predominantly for the
commission of infringing acts.
The injured party may demand that the infringer, at
its own expense, publish in a newspaper or magazine all or part of a judgment
concerning said infringement.
The right to claim damages as specified in Articles
85 and 88 shall be extinguished if not exercised within two years from the time
the person having the right to make claim learns of its right to claim damages
and knows the identity of the obligor, or within ten years of the occurrence
of the infringement.
Each holder of copyrights in a
joint work may, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, separately demand
remedies from the infringer, and may also claim damages based on its share of
copyright ownership.
The provisions of the preceding
paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to joint holders of economic rights and
plate rights that arise out of other relationships.
A copyright holder or plate rights holder may apply
to the customs authorities to suspend the release of import or export goods that
infringe on their copyright or plate rights.
The application referred to in
the preceding paragraph shall be filed in writing, shall state the facts of the
infringement, and shall include a bond in an amount equivalent to the import
customs value or the export FOB value of the goods, as assessed by customs, to
serve as a security to offset the loss suffered by the party whose goods are
subject to attachment.
Customs shall immediately
inform the applicant when processing an application to suspend the release of
goods. Where Customs determines that the conditions in the preceding paragraph
have been met and issues an attachment order, it shall give written notification
to the applicant and to the party whose goods are attached.
The applicant or the party
whose goods are attached may apply to the customs authorities for permission to
inspect the attached goods.
Attached goods shall be
confiscated by the customs authorities where the applicant has obtained a final
and unappealable civil judgment determining that the goods infringe on copyright
or plate rights. The owner of the attached goods shall be held liable for such
costs as container demurrage, warehousing, loading, unloading, as well as for
expenses connected with destruction of the goods.
If the expenses connected with
destruction of the goods referred to in the preceding paragraph are not paid
within the period prescribed by customs authorities, the claim shall be enforced
through compulsory execution.
In any of the following
circumstances, an attachment order shall be rescinded by the customs authorities
and the attached goods shall be processed in accordance with applicable import
and export regulations; in addition, the applicant shall compensate the party
whose goods were attached for damage incurred on account of the attachment:
1. The attached goods have been
determined to be non-infringing of copyright or plate rights by a final and
unappealable court judgment.
2. Within twelve days of the
date on which the applicant is informed of the attachment, the customs
authorities have not received notification from the applicant indicating that it
has initiated litigation proceedings alleging that the attached goods are in
infringement.
3. The applicant applies to
rescind the attachment.
The period referred to in
subparagraph 2 of the preceding paragraph may be extended by another twelve days
if customs authorities deem it necessary.
Customs authorities shall
return the bond upon the applicant's request in any of the following
circumstances:
1. There is no need to continue
posting the bond either because the applicant has obtained a final and
unappealable judgment in its favor or because the applicant has reached a
settlement with the party whose goods were attached.
2. The attachment order has
been rescinded and the
applicant can prove that at least the required twenty days have elapsed since
the applicant notified the party whose goods are subject to the suspension of
release to exercise its rights and such party has failed to exercise its rights.
3. The party whose goods were
attached agrees to the return.
A person whose goods have been
attached shall have the same rights as a pledgee with respect to the bond
referred to in the second paragraph of this article.
The implementing regulations for the preceding article shall be prescribed by the competent authority in consultations with the Ministry of Finance.
Article
90quater
Whoever violates any provision
of Article 80bis, thereby causing damage to the copyright owner, shall be liable
for damages. If there are multiple violators, they shall bear joint and several
liability for damages.
A person who infringes on the
economic rights of another person by means of reproducing the work with intent
to profit shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years,
detention, or in addition thereto a fine of not less than two hundred thousand
and not more than two million New Taiwan Dollars.
A person who infringes on the
economic rights of another person by means of reproducing the work without the
intent to profit, where the number of copies reproduced exceeds five, or where
the total amount of infringement calculated by the market value of lawful copies
of the work at the time of seizure exceeds thirty thousand New Taiwan Dollars,
shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three years, detention, or
in lieu thereof or in addition thereto a fine of not more than seven hundred and
fifty thousand New Taiwan Dollars.
A person who commits the
offense in paragraph 1 by means of reproducing onto an optical disk shall be
punished by imprisonment for not more than five years, detention, or in addition
thereto a fine of not less than five hundred thousand and not more than five
million New Taiwan Dollars.
Article 91bis
A person who, with intent to
profit, infringes on the economic rights of another person by distributing the
original of a work or a copy thereof by transfer of ownership shall be punished
by imprisonment for not more than three years, detention, or in lieu thereof or
in addition thereto a fine not more than seven hundred and fifty thousand New
Taiwan Dollars.
A person who, without intent to
profit, infringes on the economic property rights of another person by
distributing the original of a work or a copy thereof by transfer of ownership,
or by publicly displaying or possessing it with intent to distribute, where the
number distributed exceeds five, or where the total amount of infringement
calculated by the market value of lawful copies of the work at the time of
seizure exceeds thirty thousand New Taiwan Dollars, shall be punished by
imprisonment for not more than two years, detention, or in lieu thereof or in
addition thereto a fine of not more than five hundred thousand New Taiwan
Dollars.
A person who commits the
offense in paragraph 1, where the infringing copy is an optical disk, shall be
punished by imprisonment for not more than three years, detention, or in
addition thereto a fine
of not more than one million and five hundred
thousand New Taiwan Dollars.
Punishment of an offense in the preceding paragraph may be
reduced if the offender confesses the source of the goods, resulting in the
uncovering thereof.
Article
92
A
person who, with intent to profit, infringes on the economic rights of another
person by means of public recitation, public broadcast,
public presentation, public performance, public transmission, public display,
adaptation, compilation, or leasing, shall be punished by imprisonment for not
more than three years, detention, or in addition thereto a fine of not more than
seven hundred and fifty thousand New Taiwan Dollars.
A person who commits the crime in the preceding
paragraph without intent to profit, where the number of works infringed exceeds
five, or the injury incurred by the copyright owner exceeds
thirty thousand New Taiwan Dollars, shall be punished by imprisonment for not
more than two years, detention, or in lieu thereof or in addition thereto, a
fine of not more than five hundred thousand New Taiwan Dollars..
Article
93
In any of the following
circumstances, where there is intent to profit, a sentence of up to two years
imprisonment or detention shall be imposed, and in addition thereto a fine of
not more than five hundred thousand New Taiwan Dollars may
also be imposed:
1. Where the provisions of
Article 70 have been violated.
2. Where another person's
economic rights have been infringed by any of the means specified in
subparagraphs 2, 3, 5, or 6 of Article 87.
A person who commits the crime
in the preceding paragraph without intent to profit, where the number of copies
exceeds five, or the damage incurred by the copyright owner exceeds thirty
thousand New Taiwan Dollars, shall be punished by imprisonment
for not more than one year, detention, or in lieu thereof or in addition thereto
a fine of not more than two hundred fifty thousand New Taiwan Dollars.
A person who commits a crime
specified in paragraph 1 or 2 of Article 91, Article 91bis, Article 92, or
Article 93 as a vocation shall be imprisoned for not less than one year and not
more than seven years, and in addition thereto, may be fined not less than three
hundred thousand and not more than three million New Taiwan Dollars.
A person who commits a crime
specified in paragraph 3 of Article 91 as a vocation shall be imprisoned for not
less than one year and not more than seven years, and in
addition thereto, may be fined not less than eight hundred thousand and not more
than eight million New Taiwan Dollars.
A person who violates any provision of Article 112 shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year, detention, or, in lieu thereof or in addition thereto, a fine of not less than twenty thousand and not more than two hundred and fifty thousand New Taiwan Dollars.
A fine of up to fifty thousand New Taiwan Dollars shall be imposed for violations of the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 59 or the provisions of Article 64.
Article 96bis
For
a violation of Article 80bis, a sentence of up to one year imprisonment
or detention shall be imposed, and in lieu thereof
or in addition thereto a fine of not less than twenty thousand and not more than
two hundred and fifty thousand New Taiwan Dollars may also be imposed.
Article
96ter
If
a fine is to be imposed pursuant
to the provisions of this Chapter, the financial ability of the offender and the
benefit he/she has obtained through commission of the offense shall be taken
into account. If the benefit obtained exceeds the maximum fine, such fine may be
increased within the limit of the obtained benefit.
(deleted)
An article used in the
commission of an offense or acquired through the commission of an offense set
forth in Article 91 through Article96bis
may be confiscated; provided, for an offense set forth in paragraph 3 of
Article 91 or paragraph 3 of Article 91bis, articles which may be
confiscated are not limited to those belonging to the offender.
An article used in the
commission of an offense or acquired through
the commission of an offense set forth in paragraph 3, Article 91, or paragraph
3, Article 91bis, may be confiscated by the judiciary police if the offender
escapes and is therefore unidentifiable.
The article confiscated
pursuant to the preceding paragraph shall be destroyed, provided that where the
confiscated article is money, that money shall be submitted to the national
treasury. The relevant provisions of the Act
for the Maintenance
of Social Order shall apply mutatis mutandis to the procedures of the
aforementioned destruction and submission.
Upon
motion by the injured party or another party having the right to file a
complaint, an infringer as set out in Articles 91 through
95 may be ordered to publish all or part of the court judgment in a newspaper
and bear the costs thereof.
The offenses
specified in this chapter are
actionable only
upon complaint; provided, this shall not apply to offenses specified in
paragraph 3 of Article
91, paragraph 3 of Article 91bis, and Article 94.
Where the representative of a juristic person, or
the agent, employee,
or other servant of a juristic or natural person commits any of the offenses
specified in Articles 91 through 96bis in the performance of its duties, in
addition to punishing the infringer in accordance with
the aforesaid articles, such juristic or natural person shall also be fined in
accordance with said articles.
In circumstances specified in
the preceding paragraph, where a complaint against the infringer or the juristic
or natural person is filed or withdrawn, the effect
of such filing or withdrawal shall apply to the others.
An unrecognized foreign juristic person may file a complaint or bring a private prosecution against the offenses specified in Articles 91 through 96bis.
Upon
complaint or information of an infringement of a person's copyright or plate
rights, judicial police officials or judicial police may seize
the infringing articles in accordance with the act and refer the matter for investigation.
(deleted)
Persons who apply under this Law for a compulsory
license, recordation of plate rights, recordation of assignment of plate rights,
recordation of trust of plate rights, dispute mediation, inspection of the
register of plate rights, or issuance of a transcript thereof, shall pay a
filing fee.
The amount of the fee referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the competent authority.
Except as otherwise
provided for in this Chapter, this Act shall apply to works that were completed
prior to the implementation date of the June 10, 1992 amendment to this Act [2]
where such works comply with any one of the provisions of Articles 106 through
109 of the Act prior to the January 21, 1998 Copyright Act taking effect.
This Act shall apply to works
that were completed after the implementation date of the June 10, 1992 amendment
to this Act.
Except as otherwise provided
under in this Chapter, this Act shall apply to works that were completed prior
to the date on which the World Trade Organization Agreement took effect in the
territory under the jurisdiction of the Republic of
China where such works did not enjoy copyright under the provisions of the
respective versions of this act but where the term of protection for economic
rights has not expired in accordance with this Act; provided, this shall not
apply to works of foreign nationals for which the term of protection has expired
in their country of origin.
The term "country of
origin" as used in the proviso of the preceding paragraph shall have the
meaning ascribed to the term in Article 5 of the Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Paris Act 1971).
Except as otherwise provided for
in this Chapter, a person who began the exploitation of works protected pursuant
to the provisions of the preceding article prior to the date on which the World
Trade Organization Agreement took effect in the territory under the jurisdiction
of the Republic of China, or who made significant investment toward the purpose
of such exploitation, may continue to exploit such works during the two-year
period which commences on the aforementioned effective date of said Agreement,
and the provisions of Chapter VI and Chapter VII of this Act shall not apply.
From the implementation of the
June 6, 2003 amendment to this Act, the person exploiting a work pursuant to the
preceding paragraph, except in circumstances of rental or lending, shall pay to
the economic rights holder of the exploited work a reasonable compensation for
the exploitation such as would normally be paid for such work through free
negotiation.
From one year after the date of
promulgation of
the amendment to this Act,
an exploiter shall not further sell unauthorized copies of works protected under
the preceding article; provided, it may still rent or lend them.
The
preceding paragraph does not apply to copies of works that are separately
created through exploitation of works protected under the preceding article;
provided that, except as set forth in Articles 44 to 65, the economic rights
holder of the exploited work shall be paid a reasonable compensation
for the exploitation such as would
normally be paid for such work through free negotiation.
Exploitation of a derivative work may continue
beyond the date on which the World Trade Organization Agreement took effect in
the territory under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China, where the
preexisting work upon which such derivative work is derived is a work under
Article 106bis, where the completion of the derivative work occurred
prior to the aforementioned effective date, and where such derivative work was
protected under respective versions of this law; the provisions of Chapter VI
and Chapter VII of this Act shall not apply.
From the implementation of the
June 6, 2003 amendment to this Act,
the person exploiting the derivative work pursuant to the preceding paragraph
shall pay to the economic rights holder of the underlying work a reasonable
compensation such as would normally be paid for such work through free
negotiation.
The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs
shall not affect the protection of the derivative work.
(deleted)
Article 108
(deleted)
(deleted)
The provisions of Article 13 shall not apply to
works completed and registered prior to the
implementation date of the June 10, 1992 amendment to this Act.
The
provisions of Article 11 and Article 12 shall not apply in the following
situations:
1.
The copyright was obtained pursuant to the provisions of Article 10 or 11 of
this Act
prior to the implementation date of the June 10,
1992 amendment to this Act.
2. The copyright was obtained pursuant to Article 11 or 12 of the Act prior
to the January 21, 1998 Copyright Act
taking effect.
Article
112
Where
the works of foreign nationals enjoyed protection of translation rights pursuant
to this Act prior to the implementation date of the June 10, 1992 amendment
hereto, translations of such works made prior to said implementation
date shall no longer be reproduced after said implementation date without the
consent of the holder of the copyright to such works, unless such exploitation
is in conformity with Articles 44 through Article 65 of this Act.
Copies of translations of works
referred to in the preceding paragraph shall no longer be sold after the
expiration of the two-year period
following the implementation date of the June 10, 1992 amendment to this Act.
This
Act shall apply to plate rights that were obtained prior to
the implementation date of the June 6, 2003 amendment to this Act;
provided, the term of protection calculated pursuant to this Act
has not expired.
(deleted)
Agreements
for reciprocal copyright protection signed by organizations and agencies of this
country and those of a foreign country shall, upon ratification by the Executive
Yuan, be deemed "agreements" as that term is used in
Article 4.
Article 115bis
The plate rights register or recordation log, and samples submitted, shall be made
available to the public for inspection and copying.
Any copyright register or recordation log that has
been registered and recorded prior to the implementation date of the January 21,
1998 amendment to this Act, and any sample thereof that has been submitted, may
be made available to the public for inspection and
copying.
Article 115ter
For the purpose of handling copyright litigation, courts may establish a specialized court or appoint specialized judges.
The courts shall deliver to the specialized agency in charge of copyright matters a copy of decisions in copyright litigation cases.
Article 116
(deleted)
Article 117
This Act shall take effect from the date of
promulgation, provided
that the provisions of Articles 106bis through 106quater amended
and promulgated on January 21, 1998 took effect
from the date upon which the World Trade Organization Agreement took effect in
the territory under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China.
1. Translator's note: The translation
is based on the version appearing in the Presidental Gazette No. 6532, pp44-56 .
In this translation the word "it" has been used as a substitute for
"he/she." Unless the context indicates otherwise, the singular may be
read to include the plural and vice versa. Text within brackets "[]"
is added to improve clarity and readability. This is not an "official
translation" in that, should there be any discrepancy between the original
text and this English translation, the original Chinese text shall govern, and
in all instances of interpretation the Chinese original text should be
consulted. This translation may be reproduced in whole or part provided proper
credit is given to the translator.
2. Translator’s
note. The June 10, 1992 Copyright act took force (施行)
by its terms (Article 117) on the date of promulgation (公布),
which was June 10, 1992. Pursuant to the Act Governing Central Acts and
Regulations, Article 13, acts which are to take
force implemented as of the date of promulgation become effective (生效)
on the third day following the promulgation date. Thus, the "enforcement"
date of the June 10, 1992 Copyright Act was June 10, 1992 and the
"effective" date was June 12, 1992.
Note：This translation of the act was drafted by Winkler Partners and later revised and finalized by the competent authority of the Copyright Act.