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On 6 June 2003 the Legislative Yuan enacted amendments to the Copyright Law, which were promulgated by the President on 9 July 2003 and took effect on 11 July 2003. The amendments were drafted mainly with reference to the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), to strengthen the protection of copyright and the public interest in response to the development of digital and Internet technology, and also to im-pose heavier penalties for copyright infringe-ment. Thirty-nine existing articles were amended, and fourteen new articles were added. Their main points are as follows:
"Temporary reproduction" falls within the definition of reproduction. Exclusions to the right of reproduction are introduced so that ordinary Internet browsing or use of a work does not require the consent of the copyright holder.
A right of transmission to the public is intro-duced, so that making another's work avail-able online requires the consent of the copy-right holder.
Introducing a right of distribution empowers copyright holders to prohibit the distribution of unauthorized copies of the works. An as-sociated doctrine of exhaustion is also intro-duced, enabling the public who lawfully ac-quires an authorized copy of a work to resell it without the consent of the copyright holder.
A right to claim for remuneration is introduced for the public performance of a recorded work or a performance reproduced in a recorded work. For example, in the case of a per-formance reproduced in a recorded work, the holders of rights in the recorded work and the performer are entitled to seek remuneration for the use of the recorded work in public places such as department stores, shopping malls, aircraft, or restaurants.
Any party other than the copyright holder is prohibited from making any unauthorized deletion or alteration of electronic rights man-agement information made to the work by the copyright holder. Offenders will be liable to prison sentences of up to one year and to fines of not more than NT$250,000.
The term "fair use" explicitly includes online fair use. Also, any agreement regarding the scope of fair use concluded by copyright holder organizations and user organizations may serve as a factor for consideration of "fair use."
A copyright dispute mediation outcome, which has been reviewed and approved by the court, shall have the same force as an irre-versible civil judgment. This amendment is intended to encourage the public to make use of the specialist non-litigious channels pro-vided by the copyright authority for copyright dispute resolution.
When copyright intermediary organizations and users fail to reach an agreement on dis-putes over compensation for use, such dis-putes should be resolved through arbitration.
Knowingly using an unauthorized copy of a computer program work for business purposes is regarded as copyright infringement, and the user is liable to civil and criminal penalties.
The provisions on civil liability for copyright infringement are amended, by increasing the maximum statutory amount of civil damages in non-aggravated infringement cases to NT$5 million from NT$1 million.
The provisions on criminal penalties for copyright infringement are amended, by in-creasing the maximum fine for grave profes-sional infringement to NT$8 million from NT$450,000, and by increasing other fines proportionately. In order to effectively deter the current rampant levels of infringement in the form of illegal copying and distribution of optical media, the manufacture or sale of il-legally copied optical media for the purposes of sale or hire is subject to public prosecutions. However, other infringement offences con-tinue to be prosecutable only on complaint.
The judicial police authorities are empowered to confiscate items used for or acquired from committing copyright infringement offences, in cases where the infringer has absconded and cannot be properly identified.
Remuneration shall be made for the use of previously unprotected works in the transi-tional period following Taiwan's WTO acces-sion, and any copy of the works is prohibited from further sale after one year following the entry into force of the amendments.
In addition to the above amendments, the Leg-islative Yuan passed an associated resolution on the subject of "temporary reproduction," requir-ing the Executive Yuan to report to the Legisla-tive Yuan on the enforcement status and impact of the relevant amendments one year after the date of their enactment.
