What Is a Protected Computer?

Computer software copyright refers to the exclusive rights enjoyed by software developers or other rights holders for software works in accordance with the relevant copyright laws. As far as the nature of rights is concerned, it belongs to a kind of civil rights and has the common characteristics of civil rights.
Computer software copyright generally refers to software copyright

Copyright is an exception in intellectual property, because the acquisition of copyright does not require individual confirmation, which is often called the "automatic protection" principle. After the software is registered, the software copyright owner enjoys the right to publish, developer identity, use right, use permission, and right to get paid.

Chinese name: Software copyright
Foreign name: Software copyright

Nature: Civil rights
Legal basis: Computer Software Protection Regulations
Enjoy: Publishing rights, developer identity rights, etc.

Software copyright basic concepts

Software copyright personal and business registration

Individual registration of software copyright refers to the act of recording and protecting the rights and interests of a natural person on a non-service software work that has been independently developed by him or her by registering with the registration authority.

Software copyright enterprise registration refers to the act of recording / protecting the rights and interests of the software works or professional software works that have been independently developed by an enterprise with or without legal personality.

Software copyright

1. Through regular announcements by registration agencies, you can promote your products to the society.

2. In the software copyright trade, certification will double the value of your software works.

3. When a software copyright dispute occurs, it is difficult for the copyright owner to prove the time of completion and the owner of the work without registration.

4. The software product is legally operated or sold in China and can be published.

5. It can be used as certification materials for independent intellectual property rights when registering software products.

6. It can be used as certification materials for software products that are independently developed or have intellectual property rights in the identification of software enterprises and high-tech enterprises.

Software Copyright Registration Measures

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 is made for the implementation of the Computer Software Protection Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations").

Article 2: In order to promote the development of China's software industry and enhance the innovation and competitiveness of China's information industry, the State Copyright Administration Department encourages software registration and gives special protection to the registered software.

Article 3 These measures apply to software copyright registration, software copyright exclusive license contract and transfer contract registration.

Article 4 An applicant for software copyright registration shall be the copyright owner of the software and a natural person, legal person, or other organization that inherits, assigns, or receives software copyright.

Chapter II Application for Registration

Article 7 The software to be applied for registration shall be independently developed, or software with significant improvements in function or performance formed by modification of the original software with the permission of the original copyright owner.

Article 8 In the case of copyright registration for software developed in cooperation, all copyright owners may determine a copyright owner as the representative for consultation. If the copyright owner does not agree, any copyright owner may apply for registration without prejudice to the interests of other copyright owners, but the other copyright owner shall be indicated.

Article 9 To apply for software copyright registration, the following materials shall be submitted to the China Copyright Protection Center:

(1) Software copyright registration application form filled in as required;

(2) software identification materials;

(3) Relevant supporting documents.

Article 10 The identification materials of software include the identification materials of programs and documents.

Program and document identification materials shall consist of 30 consecutive pages before and after the source program and any kind of document. If the entire program and document is less than 60 pages, the entire source program and document should be submitted. Except for specific cases, the program has at least 50 lines per page and the document has at least 30 lines per page.

Article 11 When applying for software copyright registration, the following main certification documents shall be submitted:

(1) Identification certificates of natural persons, legal persons or other organizations;

(2) Where the copyright belongs to a written contract or project mandate, the contract or project mandate shall be submitted;

(3) For software developed on the original software with the permission of the original software copyright owner, a license certificate from the original copyright owner shall be submitted;

(4) The heirs, assignees or heirs of the rights shall submit proof of the inheritance, assignment or inheritance of the rights.

Article 12: When applying for software copyright registration, one of the following methods may be used as an example for diplomatic storage of identification materials:

(1) 30 consecutive pages before and after the source program, the confidential part of which is covered by a black wide slash, but the covered part must not exceed 50% of the deposited source program;

(2) the first 10 consecutive pages of the source program, plus 50 consecutive pages of any part of the source program;

(3) 30 consecutive pages before and after the target program, plus 20 consecutive pages of any part of the source program.

If the document is stored as an example, refer to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 13 When registering software copyright, the applicant may apply for sealing the source program, document or sample. Except for the applicant or the judicial authority, no one may open the seal.

Article 14 The parties to a software copyright transfer contract or an exclusive license contract may apply to the China Copyright Protection Center for contract registration. When applying for contract registration, the following materials should be submitted:

(1) The contract registration form to be filled in as required;

(2) A copy of the contract;

(3) Identification of the applicant.

Article 15 The applicant may request withdrawal of the application at any time before the registration application is approved.

Article 16 The software copyright registrant or contract registrant may make changes or additions to the registered items. When applying for registration change or supplement, the applicant shall submit the following materials:

(1) Application forms for changes or supplements to be filled in as required;

(2) A photocopy of the registration certificate or certification;

(3) Relevant changes or supplementary materials.

Article 17 The application for registration shall use the unified form formulated by the China Copyright Protection Center and be sealed (signed) by the applicant.

The application form should be completed in Chinese. All certificates and certification documents submitted are in foreign languages and Chinese translations should be attached.

The documents for registration shall use international standard A4 type 297mm X 210mm (length X width) paper.

Article 18 Application documents may be submitted directly or registered mail. When submitting the relevant application documents, the applicant shall indicate the name of the applicant and the software, and if there is an acceptance number or registration number, it shall indicate the acceptance number or registration number.

Chapter III Examination and Approval

Article 19 For the applications referred to in Articles 9 and 14 of these Measures, the date of receipt of the materials that meet the requirements of Chapter 2 of these Measures shall be the acceptance date, and the applicant shall be notified in writing.

Article 20 The China Copyright Protection Center shall review and complete the accepted applications within 60 days from the date of acceptance. If the applications meet the requirements of the Regulations and these Measures, they shall be registered, issued corresponding registration certificates, and announced.

Article 21 If one of the following circumstances occurs, registration shall not be made and the applicant shall be notified in writing:

(1) The content of the form is incomplete or irregular, and has not been corrected within the specified period;

(2) The identification materials submitted are not software programs and documents specified in the Regulations;

(3) The software name and the right holder's signature appear in the application documents are inconsistent, and no supporting documents have been submitted;

(4) The ownership of the software applied for registration is disputed.

Article 22 If the China Copyright Protection Center requires the applicant to make corrections to other registration materials, the applicant shall make corrections within 30 days. Failure to make corrections within the time limit shall be deemed to be withdrawn.

Article 23 The National Copyright Administration may cancel the registration according to one of the following circumstances:

(1) the final judicial decision;

(2) The administrative penalty decision made by the copyright administrative department.

Article 24 The China Copyright Protection Center may cancel the registration according to the application of the applicant.

Article 25 If the registration certificate is lost or damaged, it may apply for reissuance or replacement.

Chapter 4 Software Registration Notice

Article 26 Except as otherwise provided in these Measures, anyone may consult the software registration announcement and the relevant registration documents that may be made public.

The contents of the software registration announcement are as follows:

(1) Registration of software copyright;

(2) registration items of software copyright contracts;

(3) cancellation of software registration;

(4) Other matters.

Chapter V Expenses

Article 28 When applying for software registration or handling other matters, the following fees shall be paid:

^[1] (1) Software copyright registration fee; (Cancelled ^[1] )

(2) Software copyright contract registration fee;

(3) Changes or supplementary registration fees;

(4) Registration certificate fee;

(5) Storage and storage fees;

(6) Diplomatic deposit fees;

(7) inquiry fee;

(8) Application fee for cancellation of registration;

(9) Other fees to be paid.

The specific charging standards shall be prescribed and announced by the State Copyright Administration in conjunction with the competent price department of the State Council.

Article 29 If the applicant automatically withdraws the application or the registration authority refuses to register, the fees paid shall not be refunded.

Article 30 The various fees stipulated in Article 28 of these Measures may be remitted through the post office or bank, or may be paid directly to the China Copyright Protection Center.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 31 The various deadlines specified in the Measures and designated by the China Copyright Protection Center shall not be included in the first day. If the period is calculated in years or months, the corresponding day of the last month is the expiration date; if there is no corresponding day in the month, the last day of the month is the expiration date. If the expiry day is a statutory holiday, the first working day after the holiday is the expiry day.

Article 32 The various documents that the applicant mails to the China Copyright Protection Center shall be based on the postmark date sent. If the date of the postmark on the envelope is unclear, the date of receipt shall be the date of submission except for the certificate submitted by the applicant. The various documents mailed by the China Copyright Protection Center are delivered to the provincial capital, the capital of the autonomous region and the municipality directly under the Central Government. The fifteenth day from the date of issue of the document and the twenty-first day from other regions is presumed to be the date on which the recipient receives the document .

Article 33 The applicant may, due to force majeure or other legitimate reasons, delay the time limit specified in these Measures or the China Copyright Protection Center, and may request an extension of the time limit within thirty days after the obstacle is removed.

Article 34 The interpretation and supplementary amendment of these Measures shall be the responsibility of the National Copyright Administration.

Article 35 These Measures shall be implemented as of the date of promulgation.

This document is Decree No. 1 of the National Copyright Administration of February 20, 2002 ^[2]

Software copyright rights

Publishing rights: the right to decide whether the software is publicly available;

Right of attribution: the right to indicate the identity of the developer and to sign on the software;

Right of modification: the right to add, delete, or change the order of instructions and statements;

Right of reproduction: the right to make one or more copies of the software;

Right of distribution: the right to provide the original or copy of the software to the public by sale or gift;

Rental right: the right to license others to temporarily use the software for a fee, except that the software is not the main object of the rental;

Information network dissemination: software is provided to the public by wired or wireless means, so that the public can obtain the right to the software at a time and place of their personal choice;

Right to translate: the right to convert the original software from one natural language text to another natural language text;

Other rights: Other rights that should be enjoyed by the software copyright owner.

Significance of software copyright registration

As an important basis for tax relief

The Notice of the Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation on the Implementation of the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Strengthening Technological Innovation, Developing High-Tech, and Realizing Industrialization stipulates that: "After registration with the National Copyright Administration, Computer software that also transfers copyright and ownership is subject to business tax and no value-added tax. "

As the basis for the key protection of the law

Article 32 of the "State Council's Notice on Printing and Distributing Several Policies to Encourage the Development of the Software Industry and the Integrated Circuit Industry" states that: "The copyright administration department of the State Council shall standardize and strengthen the software copyright registration system, encourage software copyright registration, and The registered software shall be protected. "For example: when software copyright is infringed, the judicial authority may use the software copyright registration certificate as a strong evidence without review; it is also the law enforcement basis for the state copyright management agency to punish software copyright infringement.

Contributing as a technology contribution

The "Regulations on Several Issues Concerning Capital Contributions with High-tech Achievements" stipulates: "Computer software can be used as high-tech capital to invest in shares, and the price ratio can exceed the 20% limit of the Company Law to 35%." Even some local governments have stipulated that "100% of software technology can be invested as shares", but they all require that software copyright registration must be obtained first.

As a basis for applying for scientific and technological achievements

Article 8 of the Notice of the Ministry of Science and Technology on Printing and Distributing the "Measures for the Registration of Scientific and Technological Achievements" stipulates: "The registration of scientific and technological achievements shall be submitted with the" Science and Technology Achievement Registration Form "and the following materials: Appraisal report, science and technology plan project acceptance report, industry access certificate, new product certificate, etc.) and development report; or intellectual property certificate (patent certificate, plant variety right certificate, software registration certificate, etc.) and user certificate ". The software registration certificate here refers to the software copyright registration certificate and software product registration certificate, and other ministries and commissions have similar regulations.

Tangible benefits after a company goes bankrupt

Copyright is regarded as "intangible assets" in law. The intangible assets of an enterprise do not disappear with the bankruptcy of the enterprise. After the bankruptcy of an enterprise, the vitality and value of the intangible assets (copyright) still exist. The intangible assets (copyright) can be transferred and auctioned. To obtain tangible funds.

Materials required for software copyright

Software copyright application form

Computer Software Registration Application Form

(I) Software name column:

1. Full name: The full name of the software for which the copyright registration is requested. The software names in the various documents should be filled in consistently.

2. Abbreviation (no column is absent).

3. Classification number: Classification number determined according to the codes in national standards GB / T13702 and GB / 4754.

4. Version number: The version number of the software for which copyright registration is requested.

(2) Development completion date column: The date when the software developer fixes the software on a tangible object.

(3) First publication date column: the date when the copyright owner first made the software public. Publishing means providing software to the public by means of gifting, selling, publishing, and displaying. This field is not filled for unpublished software.

(IV) Software development status column: (selected according to actual conditions)

1. Independent development: software developed separately.

2. Cooperative development: refers to software developed by more than two natural persons, legal persons or other organizations. Fill in this item and submit a cooperative development contract at the same time. If there is no cooperative development contract, the applicant shall submit relevant information.

3, commissioned development: refers to the software commissioned for development. An entrusted development contract indicating the ownership of the copyright should be submitted. If there is no entrusted development contract, relevant certificates shall be submitted.

4. Task development: refers to the software developed by the country to assign tasks. A project mandate or contract should be submitted. No project mandate or contract should be submitted.

(5) Original acquisition right column: Original acquisition right refers to the right obtained by independently developing software. The content filled in shall be consistent with the matters proved by the supporting documents provided in the above column. If you select this column, you do not need to fill in the inherited rights column.

(6) Continue to obtain the right column, choose from three methods of success and acceptance according to the actual situation (the original acquisition right is not filled in this column):

1. Inheritance refers to obtaining copyright through inheritance. Legal proof of succession should be provided, such as a notarized will or court judgment.

2. Assignment refers to the acquisition of copyright through the transfer of the original copyright owner. A contract of assignment or a court judgment specifying the assignment should be provided.

3. Acceptance refers to the situation where a legal person or other organization changes and terminates, and the software copyright is enjoyed by another legal person or other organization. Applicants should provide legal proof of acceptance, such as a certificate of change in business registration and a court judgment.

(7) Scope of rights: The scope of rights refers to whether the rights obtained by the copyright owner are all or part. If some rights have been obtained, specific rights should be indicated, and options such as the right to modify, copy, issue, and disseminate information on the Internet or other rights should be selected.

(8) Software use and technical characteristics column:

1. Software use and technical characteristics column (the following five points need to be explained)

a. Brief description of the applicable industries and uses of registration software, and the main functions (not more than 600 words)

b. Register the hardware environment (model and CPU) for software development and operation, software environment (operating system, name and version number of supporting software), classification number (check the table provided by us), and software version number (if not the original Version number, such as V1.0, also provide the original version certificate, see the certificate provided by us);

c. Registration software programming language and version number, program volume (total number)

d. Creation purpose, main functions and technical features of registration software

e. Register the retail price or quotation of the software

f. The full name of the software (uniform name of all documents), the date of completion of development, and the date of publication (publication); the applicant, the copyright owner and its address. If the first two are not the same person, explain the relationship;

g. Scope of copyright: all or part (such as some rights such as the right to modify, copy, and distribute).

h. Sign the power of attorney (provided by us).

i. Note: Do not include foreign company names and person names in source programs or documents.

(9) Applicant column:

1. Individual applicants: In addition to filling in the various contents, they should submit copies of ID cards (or other identification certificates such as passports, etc.).

2. Applicants for legal persons: The full name of the unit should be filled in the name column. The ID number column should be filled with the enterprise legal person registration number or business legal person code certificate number, and the name and telephone number of the contact person should be added at the same time. A copy of the enterprise legal person registration certificate or business legal person code certificate shall be submitted.

3. Branches of legal persons and internal components of legal persons shall be certified by legal persons.

(10) Agent column:

1. Personal agent: In addition to filling in the contents, a power of attorney signed with the software applicant should be submitted.

2. Applicant of legal person or other organization agent: The name column should fill in the full name of the unit. The ID number column should be filled with the enterprise legal person registration number or business legal person code certificate number, and the name of the contact person should be noted in the telephone column. A power of attorney signed with the software applicant should be submitted.

(11) The column of software authentication materials deposit method, which refers to software programs and documents. There are three options for deposit:

1. General deposit: 30 consecutive pages before and after the source program and any kind of document are submitted. If the entire program and documentation is less than 60 pages, the entire source program and documentation should be submitted. In general, the program is no less than 50 lines per page, and the document is no less than 30 lines per page. Select General Deposit and no longer fill in the other contents of this column.

2. Exemplary diplomatic deposit: Choose one of the three situations in the column and provide corresponding materials.

3. Storage: There are two types of storage source programs and storage samples. If you choose to archive the source program, you should fill in the number of pages. CD-ROMs should be provided for selected sealed samples.

(12) Applicant's guarantee statement column: The applicant should carefully check whether the contents of the application form, the supporting documents and identification materials to be submitted are true and meet the application requirements; and clarify the legal consequences caused by the submission of untrue application documents . After the verification is correct, the individual applicant shall sign or affix his / her seal; if the applicant is a legal person or other organization, the unit shall affix the official seal. The signature shall be the original and may not be a photocopy.

Software copyright identification materials

The authentication materials for software copyright registration include the authentication materials for programs and documents.

Program and document identification materials shall consist of 30 consecutive pages before and after the source program and any kind of document. If the entire program and document to be applied for software copyright registration is less than 60 pages, the entire source program and document should be submitted. Except for specific cases, the program has at least 50 lines per page and the document has at least 30 lines per page

Software copyright certification document

1. Identification of a natural person, legal person or other organization that is the applicant for software copyright registration;

2. For software to be registered for software copyright, if the copyright belongs to a written contract or project mandate, the contract or project mandate shall be submitted;

3. For the software copyright registration of software developed on the original software with the permission of the original software copyright owner, a license certificate from the original copyright owner should be submitted;

4. Where the software copyright registration applicant is the heir, assignee, or assignee of the right, the applicant shall submit a certificate of inheritance, assignment or acceptance of the right.

Examples of software copyright registration identification materials

When applying for software copyright registration, one of the following methods may be used as an example for diplomatic storage of identification materials:

1. The first 30 consecutive pages of the software source program to be applied for software copyright registration, the confidential part of which is covered by a black wide slash; 2. The first 10 pages of the source program to be applied for software copyright registration, plus 50 consecutive pages of any part of the source program;

3. The first and last consecutive 30 pages of the target program to be applied for software copyright registration, plus the continuous 20 pages of any part of the source program.

4. If the software file to be applied for software copyright registration is used as an example for diplomatic storage, refer to the preceding paragraph.

Software copyright related issues

What is software copyright registration?

Article 3 of the "Computer Software Copyright Registration Measures" states: "This method applies to software copyright registration, software copyright exclusive license contract and transfer contract registration." According to this article, software copyright registration is: 1, software copyright, 2, software Copyright exclusive license contract, 3. Software exclusive transfer contract. Can also be divided into two categories, copyright registration and contract registration, this article only discusses software copyright registration.

Software copyright Is software registration required?

Software copyright is automatically generated from the date of completion of software development. Registration is not a necessary condition for the generation of rights. Software copyright registration application means that the copyright owner submits an application to the China Copyright Protection Center, and the China Copyright Protection Center reviews and issues a software copyright registration certificate. We checked the relevant regulations and compared the old and new regulations, we can see two completely opposite opinions.

1. Registration is a prerequisite for software copyright to gain administrative and legal protection

According to Article 24 of the Computer Software Protection Regulations promulgated in 1991, "The registration of software copyrights with software registration management agencies is a prerequisite for administrative processing or litigation of software rights disputes under this Regulation." Software that is not registered will not be protected by administration, or even infringed. It is not possible to bring a lawsuit to the court. Although it is unknown that software must be registered to be protected by law, in fact, software that is not registered is excluded from the legal protection, and software copyright registration can be considered to be compulsory.

This regulation was half rejected by the Supreme People's Court's "Notice on Several Issues concerning the In-depth Implementation of the" Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China "in 1993. Article 3 of the Interpretation states that: "... when a party files a lawsuit over a copyright dispute over computer software, it has been reviewed in accordance with Article 108 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China. The court should accept it. "If the software is infringed, we can go to court to file a lawsuit even if it is not registered.

2. Whether software copyright registration depends entirely on voluntary

According to Article 7 of the Computer Software Protection Regulations promulgated in 2002: "Software copyright owners can register with software registration agencies recognized by the copyright administration department of the State Council. Registration certification documents issued by software registration agencies are preliminary proof of registration matters. "This article stipulates" yes ", which shows that software copyright registration is not mandatory. Whether to register depends entirely on the willingness of the parties.

3. Software copyright registration has nothing to do with obtaining copyright

What people are most concerned about is software copyright. Can software get copyright if it is not registered? This question is clearly answered in the Regulations on the Protection of Computer Software. Article 5 of the Regulations states: "Chinese citizens, legal persons or other organizations shall enjoy copyright in accordance with these Regulations, regardless of whether the software developed by them is published."

There are two main approaches to obtaining copyright in national legislation:

1. Automatic acquisition system,

2. Registration acquisition system.

Our country uses an automatic acquisition system. The automatic acquisition system takes the completion time of the work as the time limit for obtaining the copyright. The copyright is obtained upon completion of the work, and no formalities need to be performed. Completion is not required to be complete, and if it is partially completed, the copyright of the completed part is enjoyed. Article 5 of the "Regulations on the Protection of Computer Software" stipulates that whether or not it is published, the enjoyment of copyright in accordance with this article is the embodiment of the automatic acquisition system.

According to the "Computer Software Protection Regulations", we can draw the conclusion that software copyright registration is not a prerequisite for software to obtain copyright. Once the software is completed (including partial completion), it automatically enjoys the copyright. It is protected by law. Is the software copyright Registration has nothing to do with whether copyright can be obtained.

Software copyright registration process

1) Fill in the software basic information collection form;

2) Provide some source programs (electronic version): You provide some source programs of WORD electronic version of the software (the first 2000 lines and the last 2000 lines, a total of 4,000 lines, and the last page is the software exit code)

3) Provide a manual (electronic version): Depending on the type of software, you need to provide a WORD version of the software operation manual or software design manual;

4) Submit for review;

5) Review by Copyright Center: 31-35 working days after the initial review is approved, the review results will be published about 45-50 days and announced;

7) Announcement and certification;