人大代表和專家熱議著作權法修正草案

National legislators and experts on intellectual property rights have welcomed stronger protection of online copyrights and harsher punishments for copycats in newly released draft amendments to existing law while suggesting that some new types of infringements in cyberspace be further studied.

全國人大代表和知識產權專家對於新發布的著作權法修正草案中對網絡著作權實行更強有力的保護和對侵權者實施更嚴厲的懲罰措施表示歡迎，同時建議進一步研究制定對一些新出現的網絡侵權行爲的法規。

"The current Chinese Copyright Law has neither caught up with economic, technological and cultural growth nor solved new problems in the industry," said Li Rui, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. "So it's urgent and necessary to revise the law."

全國人大常委會李銳委員表示，現行的著作權法已經不能適應我國經濟發展、科技創新、文化繁榮的新形勢和新問題，迫切需要加以修訂。

Li's remarks follow the advice of the NPC Standing Committee, the country's top legislature, which deliberated on draft revisions to the law late last month.

李銳委員的意見和人大常委會的建議如出一轍。人大常委會正在審議上個月末提交的著作權法修正案草案。

The current law, which has been in effect for 30 years, had played an important role in encouraging innovation and protecting copyrights, Li said, "but it cannot give more legal support to new types of online copyrights, let alone end related disputes, even though it was amended in 2001 and 2010".

李銳表示，現行法律已經實行了30年，在鼓勵創新和保護著作權方面發揮了重要作用，但是儘管經過了2001年、2010年兩次修改，這部法律已經不能爲新型網絡著作權提供法律支持，更別提解決相關糾紛了。

Statistics released by the China Internet Network Information Center last month showed that there were 904 million internet users across the country by March, up 75.08 million compared with the end of 2018.

中國互聯網絡信息中心上個月發佈的數據顯示，截至2020年3月，我國網民規模爲9.04億，較2018年底增長7508萬。

While witnessing a significant rise in the number of netizens, the nation is also seeing a big increase of IP-related conflicts online, especially copyright disputes.

在網民數量大幅增長的同時，國內的知識產權相關糾紛也大量增加，尤其是版權糾紛。

From Sept 9, 2018, to March 31, for example, the Beijing Internet Court filed 42,121 cases on online IP rights, more than 99 percent of which involved online copyright issues.

舉例來說，從2018年9月9日到今年3月31日期間，北京互聯網法院共受理知識產權案件42121件，其中99%以上爲著作權案件。

"Online copyrights need stronger and quicker protection because more works, including novels, pictures and videos, are emerging online, and because of how fast information spreads on the internet," said Kang Lixia, a lawyer specializing in IP-related disputes at Beijing Conzen Law Firm.

北京從真律師事務所專門代理知識產權糾紛案的康麗霞律師說：“網絡著作權需要更高效、更強有力的保護，因爲越來越多的作品，比如小說、照片和視頻，都是通過互聯網迅速傳播的。”

"If the online infringement cannot be stopped in a timely manner, the works' creators will face greater economic losses, as collecting evidence online for them is also a big challenge," she said, adding that highlighting protections for online copyrights in the latest draft is "essential and urgent".

她說：“如果不能及時停止侵權，這些線上作品的作者將面臨更大的經濟損失，因爲對他們來說在網上固定證據也是挑戰。因此，本次修正案草案對於網絡著作權保護的提升是及時且必要的。”

The draft's full text has been published on the website of the NPC Standing Committee, which is soliciting opinions from the public and authorities.

修正案草案的全文已發佈在全國人大常委會官方網站上，正在向公衆和權威部門徵集意見。

Kang also applauded the increased punishments in the draft, saying they posed a bigger threat to copyright violators and a more effective measure against piracy.

康麗霞對草案中加大處罰力度的條款也表示認可。她表示，這可以對版權違法者形成更大威懾，也可以更有效地打擊盜版。

The draft stipulates that if a copyright owner clarifies the cost of using his or her works, people using the works without paying or those deliberately infringing on the copyright will be ordered to pay five times the cost in compensation.

草案規定，如果著作權所有人明確了版權使用費，侵權者將按確定數額的五倍給予賠償。

In cases where the cost of infringing on a copyright is not clear or when the loss to copyright holders and benefits gained by infringers cannot be determined, the draft raises the ceiling for compensation that pirates will have to pay to 5 million yuan, up from 500,000 yuan.

權利人的實際損失、侵權人的違法所得、權利許可使用費難以計算的，該草案將法定賠償額上限從50萬元提高到500萬元。

"The harsher punishment is fact-based and will improve the innovation, protection and application of copyrights," said Li Xueyong, another member of the NPC Standing Committee.

全國人大常委會李學勇委員說：“草案（提高賠償額）體現了著作權工作的實際需要，有利於強化著作權創造、保護、運用。”

But he added that the draft still needs to be further amended, balancing copyright protection, technological innovation and internet development.

但他補充道，本次草案還有待完善，建議進一步協調好著作權法、著作權保護與網絡技術發展的關係。

National legislator Yang Zhijin agreed, saying "we should give more respect to copyrights and also prevent those rights from being abused.

全國人大常委會楊志今委員也認爲草案應進一步完善，他表示“既要讓著作權得到充分的尊重和保護，也要防止權力濫用”。

Liu Xiuwen, another lawmaker, said there were a few problems -- such as how to protect copyrights on livestreaming platforms and whether works made by robots should be safeguarded -- that still had no clear solution, which requires us to conduct further studies and promote the draft in a timely manner".

全國人大常委會劉修文委員表示，互聯網、信息化時代出現的一些新問題，比如如何保護直播平臺的著作權，以及機器人或人工智能產出的“作品”是否屬於作品，在現實中確實存有爭議，在目前的草案中也尚未有清晰的說明。這需要我們進一步研究，及時完善草案。