Executive Yuan passes draft amendments to overhaul Taiwan Copyright Act

　Taiwan Executive Yuan has convened five meetings to review and examine the Copyright Act amendment made and proposed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.  Now the amendment has been revised according to the conclusions adopted in the Executive Yuan’s meetings, and the total number the articles after amendment will amount to 144, more than the original 117 articles before.  Highlights of the amendment are summarized as follows.

1.  Consolidation and clear-cut definitions of economic rights, such as, public broadcast, public transmission, public recitation, and public performance for adaptation to digital convergence;
2.  Copyright ownership in case of works made for hire;
3.  Provisions governing moral rights amended to enhance work distribution and exploitation;
4.  Relevant regulations with respect to distribution right and rental right being amended more specifically for clarification;
5.  Adjustment of protection for performers and sound recording;
6.  Amendments of restrictions on economic rights;
7.  New provisions concerning compulsory licensing and registration of pledge right over copyrighted works in case of the copyright owners thereof not being identified;
8.  New regulations introduced to solve the victim’s difficulties in calculating or proving actual damages;
9.  Amendments of current border control measures;
10.  Amendment and removal of out-of-date criminal regulations.  (June 2017)
/CCS