On March 31, 2012 the PRC National Copyright Administration (“NCA”) released for comment the first draft of the proposed amendments to the Copyright law. Comments are due April 30, 2012.

(In Chinese): http://www.ncac.gov.cn/cms/html/309/3502/201203/740608.html.  As far as we know the draft is not yet calendared at the State Council, nor at the NPC.  However with the passage of the Patent Law in 2008, and the pending Trademark Law revisions at the State Council, and the dramatic increase in copyright litigation as well as social interest in copyright-related issues, copyright amendments also seemed inevitable.   This draft likely incorporates comments and suggestions from prior drafts of  Renmin University, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Prof. Wu Handong’s faculty in Zhongnan University of Politics and Law, as well as the predecessor efforts of former NCA Commissioner Shen Rengan and others, and the IPR and Internet related provisions of China’s Tort Law (2010).

Update: Rogier Creemers has translated the Draft into English, which is posted on his blog: China Copyright and Media.