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COPYRIGHT PROTECTION FOR EROTIC WORKS?
Is an erotic film a work that can enjoy the pro-tection of copyright? The Intellectual Property Office recently held that in the Copyright Act, "work" is defined a creation within a literary, scientific, artistic, or other intellectual domain, and audiovisual works include cinematic films, video recordings, video discs, images displayed on computer screens, and other image sequences displayed by mechanical or other equipment, with or without accompanying sound, as may be attached to any medium. Therefore, if the con-tent of a pornographic film is creative, it can enjoy copyright protection. As to whether it is obscene, or its display, dissemination, or broad-cast subject to restriction or regulation under the Penal Code or other law, this should be decided according to such other laws, and has no bearing on copyright.
However, this interpretation is at odds with the view taken by the judiciary. In past judgments the Supreme Court has pointed out that the Copyright Act intends not only to protect the intellectual works, but also to enhance the healthy development of culture. Hence if a creation is detrimental to the maintenance of social order or is against the public interest, it cannot promote national and social development, and is thus contrary to the legislative intent of the Copyright Act. Therefore, based on the doctrine that the protection of vested interests must be limited by considerations of public order and good morality, pornographic films cannot be considered protected "works".