Adopting Subsequent Remuneration Right in Chinese Copyright Law

Authors

Xi Chen

Abstract

One heavily and contentiously argued clause in Chinese Copyright Law amendment drafts focuses on the practicality of granting authors of audiovisual works the legal right to collect subsequent remunerations (“SRR”) when their works are reused in subsequent exploitations. With the rapid increase of social media channels for the Chinese movie industry, and other entertainment industries relying on a heavy usage of audiovisual work, authors demand that they should be entitled to the profit earned from derivative markets and other media channels beyond the first intended market. In order to balance the conflicting interest between the author and the producer, and to encourage creativity, Chinese legislators added a clause that granted subsequent remuneration rights in all three revisions of the amendment drafts. This Article analyzes the solution proposed in the draft, and compares that with the U.S. and the French practice; the Article analyzes the rationality behind this clause and the potential side effects this clause may entail should the amendment drafts be implemented in practice. This Article reveals reasons why the drafted subsequent remuneration right still exhibits a high degree of ambiguity and lacks enforceability in practice. Lastly, this article concludes with its own proposal.

Recommended Citation

Xi Chen, Adopting Subsequent Remuneration Right in Chinese Copyright Law, 38 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 39 (2015).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol38/iss1/2