The changing role of copyright in China's emergent media economy

The changing role of copyright in China's emergent media economy

This chapter introduces the changing role of copyright in China from a historical perspective. It begins by briefly tracing the history of copyright, from a censorship related system associated with the emergence of the printing press in Imperial China, through modernization during the Republican period, abolition under Communism, and finally to the introduction of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) first copyright law in 1990 and the nation’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. It also discusses the changing landscape of copyright industries in the digital age. There are signs that some media firms are finding it more profitable to simply develop new business models than to attempt to apply models that depend on strict enforcement, particularly in a digital environment. Tensions between black-letter law and copyright practices in China provide important insight into the complex ways in which copyright connects to wider commercial, economic, legal and technological landscapes in all markets.

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.