Copyright and the Public Interest in China

Author: Guan Hong Tang
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9780857931061
Published In: November 2011
Format: Hardback , 304 pages
Jurisdiction: China ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Guan Hong Tang expertly highlights how the multidimensional concept of public interest has influenced the development and limitations of Chinese copyright.

Since 1990 China has awarded copyright – individual rights – but also provides for public, non-criminal enforcement. The author reveals that pressures of development, globalisation and participation in a world economy have hastened the loss of public interest from copyright. However, for a socialist country, placing the common ahead of the individual interest, the public interest also constitutes a phenomenological tool with which to limit copyright. The author also discusses how the rise of the Internet, which has had a major social and economic impact on China, raises problems for Chinese copyright law. Comparing Chinese copyright law with the USA and the UK, topical issues are presented in this unique book including those arising within education, library and archives sectors.

This insightful book will strongly appeal to students and researchers in IP law, comparative law, Chinese studies, international commerce and information science. It will also prove invaluable for lawyers and consultants with expertise in IP and China.

Introduction

1. The Opening Up to the World of a Once Isolated Nation

2. Authorship, Access and the Public Interest

3. Administrative Copyright Enforcement – the Authorship Public Interest

4. Public Education, Copyright and the Public Interest

5. Public Libraries, Copyright and the Public Interest 6. Public Archives, Public Copyright and the Public Interest Conclusion

Appendix: Timeline of Chinese History

Bibliography

Index

Guan H. Tang, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China

‘This brilliant amalgam of law, history, social analysis and some Confucian philosophy argues for a distinctive Chinese approach to copyright and the public interest, aligning not only the Western commitment to individual creativity but also supporting public access to and use of works without the consent of the copyright holder. The argument involves fascinating analysis, not only of evolving Chinese attitudes to education, libraries, archives and censorship, but also of the profound significance of the Internet in China today.’
– Hector MacQueen, University of Edinburgh, UK

‘Guan Hong Tang’s book offers a fresh, insightful and scholarly treatment of the relationship between the law of copyright and the public interest in China. Copyright legislation in China is a novelty, dating from 1990, and Dr Tang provides a vivid overview of the historical and cultural tensions between traditional Chinese Confucianism and the very concept of copyright, tensions which more recent legislation and case law seek to address.’
– Gillian Davies, Hogarth Chambers, UK