User-generated Contents Problem in Amendment Process of Copyright Law (著作權法修訂中的“用戶創造內容”問題 : 以中國內地與香港的比較為視角)

Abstract

English Abstract: "User-generated content" (UGC) is a type of human creativity action trigged by the Internet and the accompanying online communities of interest. According to the laws in Mainland China and Hong Kong, most UGC are possibly copyright infringements. However, the phenomenon of UGC is also firmly connected to copyright exceptions and the concept of "transformative use" that developed from judicial practices. In order to cope with the challenges brought by the digital and internet technologies to the traditional copyright regime, Mainland China has launched the third revision process to the Copyright Law of China, and published the third draft on June 2014, which adjusted the copyright exceptions part greatly. Hong Kong has proposed its Copyright (Amendment) Bill in 2014. By added a section about "infringement by communicating to pubic", it has expanded the coverage of copyright protection from specific forms of communication to the public to all electronic forms of communication. It also added an extra exception about "parody, satire, caricature and pastiche". Compared with the copyright exceptions part of the said draft of the Copyright Law of China, Hong Kong’s proposal is more reasonable therefore worth considering. For other types of UGC other than parody, it is suggested that the copyright owners should step in early and establish a good communication and cooperation with their UGC creators. Only by updating their commercial models and utilizing legal instruments such as licenses and self-binding announcements, copyright owners can achieve a win-win situation with UGC creators.

Chinese Abstract: "用戶創造內容"是隨着互聯網以及相伴而來的興趣社區的出現而引發的一種人類創作活動。不論按中國內地法律還是按香港地區法律,多數"用戶創造內容"創作行為存在侵犯著作權人專有權利的可能。但是,"用戶創造內容"也與著作權保護例外制度與司法實踐中發展出來的"轉換性使用"密切相關。為應對數字和網絡技術對傳統著作權制度帶來的挑戰,中國內地啟動了對《著作權法》的第三次修訂,於2014年6月公佈了《送審稿》,對著作權保護例外進行了一定程度的調整。香港地區於2014年6月提出了《2014年版權(修訂)條例草案》。《2014年草案》既通過規定"向公眾傳播方式侵犯版權",將所規制之侵權傳播行為由僅限於有線、無線和廣播等特定形式的傳播,擴張至以任何電子形式進行的傳播,又規定了戲仿、諷刺、營造滑稽和模仿等版權保護例外。與內地《送審稿》之權利限制相比,香港《2014年草案》更為合理,值得借鑒。就戲仿等之外其他形式的"用戶創造內容",著作權人應提前介入版權產品的市場化階段,與"用戶創造內容"創作者達成良好的溝通與合作。通過轉換商業模式、利用授權許可以及"聲明"等綜合性手段,著作權人才能實現與"用戶創造內容"創作者的共贏