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COPYRIGHT AND PLATE RIGHTS
In a recent legal interpretation concerning copy-right and plate rights, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) pointed out that works made in an-cient times are in the public domain, and any person may freely make use of them. However, a person who has registered plate rights under Article 79 of the Copyright Law has the exclu-sive right of reproduction of the layout so regis-tered, by photocopying, printing or similar methods, for a period of 10 years from the date of completion of the plates. Also, under Article 7 of the Copyright Law, a compilation work formed by the creative selection and arrangement of materials is protected as an independent work. However, such protection does not affect the copyright of the works from which such materi-als are selected.
Accordingly, a creative selection and arrange-ment of ancient works (such as a collection of calligraphies by the Four Great Masters of the Song dynasty) can enjoy independent copyright protection as a compilation work. But because the ancient calligraphies reproduced in it are al-ready in the public domain, they do not them-selves become subject to copyright as a result of being included in such a compilation. In other words, third parties may not make use of the compilation work without authorization, but they may make use of the ancient works included in the compilation, which are in the public domain. However, Article 16 of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Law provides that publicly owned ancient artifacts held by public institutions for the preservation of ancient artifacts may be re-produced for sale by the holding institution for publicity purposes. Another person may not further reproduce such objects without the per-mission and supervision of the holding institu-tion. Whether the above-mentioned provisions of the Copyright Law also apply in such cases depends on the individual circumstances.