The Berkeley Center for Law and Technology hosted a program on IP developments in China, including a discussion concerning the proposed revisions to China’s copyright law.  A useful powerpoint by Ma Xiaogang, an attorney with the Hylands law firm in Beijing who is particularly knowledgeable in copyright law is found here.  There were some other useful presentations, such as the ppt of Supreme Peoples Court judge Xia Junli on the forthcoming JI on Internet liability.

At the Berkeley conference Ma indicated that there is an internal third draft that is under consideration for review by an experts panel shortly, which will likely be forwarded on to the State Council Legislative Affairs Office for its consideration.  Ma was able to give a cohesive overview of a changing scope of emphasis of the copyright law, the inclusion of new areas of copyright protection (e.g., applied art and sports broadcasting) and continuing challenges.

Revision: May 14, 2020