Beijing unveils copyright guidelines

At the end of April, the Beijing Copyright Bureau (yes I’m as surprised as you that this exists) unveiled its Guiding Framework on the Protection of Copyright for Network Dissemination. Coming into effect about 2 weeks ago, these guidelines are broadly designed to encourage copyright owners to exercise their rights using tools such as take-down notices, while service providers (covering websites, ISPs and mobile companies among others) should “employ effective technical measures to prevent users uploading or linking to copyrighted works”.

It’s good to see the Chinese government moving in the right direction, although this particular framework does not have any penalties associated with non-compliance. It could be interesting if the framework is eventually used to set legal precedents in terms of fines etc., but I think we’re still quite a way off from that.

Story source: McClure’s Asian Music News