The first category: works with definite authors that must be created by the author himself, including literary works, dramatic works, musical works and artistic works.
The second category: copyright works from original works, including sound recordings, audio-visual products, film works, radio and television programs, cable TV transmission and typesetting methods in printed formats such as words and pictures.
Under normal circumstances, if a work of Category I is publicly published while the author is alive, the copyright protection period shall be from the date of publication of the work to 50 years after the author's death. If the work has never been published before the author's death, the copyright belongs to the author indefinitely. Original works are protected by copyright within 50 years from the date of broadcasting or distribution, and the protection period of printed matter format is valid for 25 years from the date of first publication. After the end of the protection period, the copyrighted works become public property. Therefore, the purpose of this arrangement is to balance the investment of the owners and the requirements of the society for these works, so it is absolutely reasonable. However, if the owner of the work wants to extend the copyright protection period, it is also a feasible method to constantly modify the printed matter.
Unlike other types of intellectual property rights such as patents, trademarks and industrial designs, copyright is an automatic right. Hong Kong's copyright law adopts the "automatic protection system", that is, after the creator completes the work and publishes it in any form, he will automatically become the copyright owner of the work, and can be protected by law without registering or going through any formalities. Works by authors from all over the world, or works published for the first time around the world, can be protected by copyright in Hong Kong.
Although Hong Kong's intellectual property law is a local law, many international copyright conventions, such as Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, International Copyright Convention, Geneva Records Convention and the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the World Trade Organization, are applicable to Hong Kong, and all international treaties also stipulate that contracting parties must recognize the intellectual property rights of nationals of other member countries, so local creators are not the only ones. In addition, 19961February, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
The Internet Convention was completed on 20th, and the Hong Kong Copyright Ordinance, which came into effect in 1997, has already included the main provisions of the Convention. Therefore, Hong Kong and other member countries also prohibit the transmission of unauthorized copyright works on the Internet.
However, it must be emphasized that the copyright law only protects the expression of ideas or related products, but not the idea itself, that is, any creation must be transformed into a substantive expression form, such as public publication through the media, in order to be protected by the copyright law. Copying a book that explains printing skills is copyright infringement, but quoting the skills in the book is not.
What is infringement?
Infringement of copyright refers to exercising the rights owned by the copyright owner and engaging in business activities related to the exercise of rights without the consent of the copyright owner. To sum up, copyright infringement can be divided into direct and indirect types.
Direct infringement: refers to plagiarism; Copying, such as copying the expression language of copyright works into another language, or making any adaptation, including copying traditional media into intangible media and uploading or downloading them on the Internet; Publishing plagiarism, such as publishing a three-dimensional work copied from a two-dimensional copyright work.
Indirect infringement: refers to the act of importing, selling, renting or using pirated products for other commercial purposes, or even providing methods, tools or places for copyright infringement.
As far as direct infringement is concerned, the so-called plagiarism is not necessarily exactly the same as the original. As long as the essence of the work is adopted, it will be regarded as copyright infringement. This is a matter of quality, not quantity. In other words, even if only one sentence of the original work is copied, the plagiarist has infringed the copyright of others.
As for indirect infringement, the condition of its establishment is that the infringer knows that the object he deals with infringes the copyright of others, but still keeps such objects for the purpose of trading (including renting, exporting and importing). The so-called "knowingly committing a crime" is measured by objective standards, that is, as long as the infringer knows something that can explain that the commodity is copied to ordinary people, it is considered as intentional infringement of copyright.
Under normal circumstances, as long as the author agrees, his works can be reproduced legally. However, it must be clear that if a work is born under the following special circumstances, its copyright probably does not belong to the original copyright owner. To exercise the copyright of a work, it is necessary to directly consult the real owner of the copyright.
1. Staff Works
If a work is created by an employee for work during his employment, the copyright of the work belongs to the employer, unless otherwise agreed between the employer and the employee. If the work is used in a way that employers and employees can't foresee when making the work, employees can get some remuneration from their employers when the work is used.
2. commissioned works
If the author entrusts others to create the work, and the two parties have not concluded any agreement in advance, which clearly lists who owns the copyright after the work is completed and the length of its validity period, the copyright of the work belongs to the author, but the entrusting party has the exclusive permission that both parties can reasonably foresee the purpose of using the work when entrusting the production.
3. Transfer or sale of copyright
In order to balance the rights and interests of copyright owners and public interests, the law allows the public to reasonably use copyrighted works under certain conditions. For example, limited copying of academic papers for private study or research purposes, quoting other people's works in comments, quoting newspaper reports in current affairs reports, and using copyright works in educational institutions, libraries, archives and public administration departments are all legal infringements and do not conflict with copyright laws and regulations.
In fact, there are more than 50 provisions on "licensing behavior" in the Copyright Ordinance, which lists the existence of various copyrights, but it will not infringe when used. As for what kind of works should be handled under what circumstances, there is no clear definition in the regulations In short, "permitted behavior" usually includes private and domestic use. It is recognized that the code does not infringe the legitimate rights and interests of the copyright owner when used.
How to protect copyright?
Copyright generally belongs to the original creator. However, in order to avoid disputes under special circumstances, the originator may conclude a written agreement with the first partner such as the client. The contents of the agreement must include: the scope of original works that one party can use, the amount payable after use, the allowable use period and whether commercial use is allowed. The contents concluded by both parties may be more specific and detailed, so as to minimize the chances of copyright disputes in the future.
Although the law does not require any copyright owner to attach a statement to his work to protect his rights and interests, adding a copyright statement in a conspicuous place of the work can remind people who may infringe that if they want to exercise the copyright of the work, they must first obtain the consent of the copyright owner.
The most commonly used copyright notice arrangement method is:
0? 8 (name of copyright owner) (year of work completion)
All rights reserved and reproduced must be investigated.
If it is proved that the copyright of a work has been infringed, the copyright owner may institute criminal or civil proceedings.
Civil litigation: the copyright owner can recover from the infringer, including compensation for the loss of the copyright owner, recovery of the profits of the infringer or the total selling price of pirated products. However, when suing the other party by civil means, the copyright owner must first prove that he owns the copyright. However, due to the difficulty of proof, it is often difficult for the original plaintiff to prove the ownership of copyright. Therefore, manufacturers are advised to keep records of all production processes, including sketches, drafts, models, etc. As evidence of copyright.
Criminal prosecution: generally, it is a serious and large number of commercial infringement crimes, such as holding infringing articles for sale or commercial use, importing or exporting pirated articles, etc. The responsibility in this respect is borne by the Customs. According to the law, anyone who possesses infringing articles for sale or commercial purposes can be fined or imprisoned. The maximum penalty is four years' imprisonment and a fine of HK$ 50,000 per infringing article. Anyone who manufactures and sells equipment that infringes copyright is liable to a maximum of eight years' imprisonment and a fine of HK$ 500,000.
The copyright owner may apply to the court for an injunction to immediately prohibit all infringing acts of the infringer, or order the infringer to hand over all infringing articles to the court or the copyright owner.
After paying the deposit, the copyright holder or the copyright assignee may apply to the court for a seizure order, authorizing the customs to seize the imported goods suspected of infringement, so that the copyright holder can take further civil or criminal actions.