Copyright

Taiwan Copyright System

In the past, an applicant have to register his work with the Copyright Office in order to acquire protection. But due to many flaws of the system, the Copyright Act was amended to first-to-create principle. If an applicant requires evidence of the creation of the work, he or she may file a request to register the work with the Copyright Office. However, the registration system was abolished in the amended Copyright Act on January 21, 1998.

Therefore, according to Rule 10 of the current Copyright Act, an applicant does not require to register his creation to enjoy the copyright protection. The protection is automatically effective after the work is completed.

  1. "Works" includes works in literature, science, the arts, and other intellectual realms.
    2. "Creator" means a person who creates the work.
    3. "Copy rights" encompass two different kinds of rights "moral rights" and "economic rights".

the "works" are list below
1. Oral and literary works 2. Musical works 3. Dramatic and choreographic works 4. Artistic works 5. Photographic works 6. Pictorial and graphic works 7. Audiovisual works 8. Sound recordings 9. Architectural works 10. Computer programs 11. Derivative works 12. Editing work 13. Performance

R.O.C. follows the principle of copyright "protection upon creation" not "protection upon registration". Therefore, a creator enjoys copyrights as soon as he or she has completed a "work". Registration is not required.

  1. "Moral rights" serve to protect the reputation and prestige of the authors and the moral interests of their works.
    2."Moral rights" include: rights of public publish, rights of represent of name, rights of prohibit from inappropriate revising.
  1. "Economic rights" namely, the creators can enjoy real economic benefits from their work (rights of maintain the same).
    2. "Economic rights" include: Reproduce, Public recitation, Public broadcast, Public presentation, Public performance, Public transmission, Public display, Publication, Public release, Adaptation, Distribution.

Yes. The rules for protection term of copyright list below:

  1. Economic rights endure for the life of the author and fifty years after the author's death.
  2. Where a work is first publicly released between the fortieth and fiftieth years after the author's death, the economic rights shall endure for a term of ten years beginning from the time of the first public release.
  3. Economic rights in a pseudonymous work or an anonymous work endure for fifty years from t he time of public release; provided, the economic rights shall be extinguished where it can be proven that the author has been deceased for over fifty years. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not apply when the pseudonym of the author is well known to the public.
  4. Economic rights in works authored by a juristic person endure for fifty years after the public release of the work; provided, if the work is not publicly released within fifty years from the completion of the creation, the economic rights shall subsist for fifty years after completion of the creation.
  5. Economic rights for photographic works, audiovisual works, sound recordings, and performances endure for fifty years after the public release of the work. Provided, if the work is not publicly released within fifty years from the completion of the creation, the economic rights shall subsist for fifty years after completion of the creation.

If the work can meet the criteria of Copyright Act and Trademark Act simultaneously, then it can obtain the copyright and trademark registration at the same time. For example, a device can acquire the copyright of Pictorial and graphic works in the meantime apply for a trademark registration using the said device.

if the work can meet the criteria of Copyright Act and Patent Act simultaneously, then it can obtain the copyright and patent registration. For example: regarding to the manufacturing of drugs, it can acquire the copyright of written works and apply for a patent on the method of manufacture.

 

The protection and elements are different between the two rights.

  1. "The Copyright" protects the way of expression the conception , if a conception could have different way to express and have original creation, then it could become several copyrights without hinder each other.
  2. "The Patent right" base on first apply principle; it can only exist with one invention or one creation. If there are more than two people have the same invention or creation to file applications respectively, it should grant a patent to the first application.

For the sake of the efficient deterrent produce and sell large amount of illegal copy plates, the new Copyrights Act listed the infringement behaviour below as criminal of non-actionable only upon complaint in order to investigate more easily:

  1. Intent to sale or rent any copies reproduced without the authorization of the economic rights holder or the plate rights holder.
  2. Distribution of articles that are known to infringe on plate rights, or public display or possession of such articles with the intent to distribute.