The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC) recently signed a memorandum of cooperation on strengthening intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in the literary and artistic fields.
The memorandum provides for the establishment of a regular communication mechanism between the two parties. The SPP's Intellectual Property Procuratorial Department and the CFLAC's Rights Protection Department, serving as standing liaison offices, will be responsible for coordinating IPR protection in the literary and artistic fields and conducting routine communication.
Under the memorandum, the two parties will establish a coordination and consultation mechanism for IPR protection and hold regular meetings to review cooperation results and plan future work.
The memorandum calls for the two parties to coordinate in case handling. Where the CFLAC identifies leads involving major criminal cases of IPR infringement in the literary and artistic fields as well as matters requiring procuratorial supervision in civil, administrative, and public-interest litigation, it may refer them to the SPP. The SPP will promptly assess such leads and provide feedback to the CFLAC.
Where procuratorial organs need to verify literary or artistic works or locate rights holders in handling cases, the CFLAC will provide active assistance and feedback. For major IPR cases involving prominent figures in the literary and artistic fields or spanning multiple art forms, the two parties may jointly advance their handling in accordance with the law.
Regarding infringement with significant social impact frequently reported by literary and artistic professionals, the two sides may step up joint analysis and evaluation and, when necessary, launch targeted campaigns to address such infringements.
In response to new challenges to IPR protection for literary and artistic works posed by the development of the digital industry and artificial intelligence, the two sides will also jointly strengthen research into the relevant rules. Through joint analysis and assessment, they will explore rules for handling cases involving piracy and infringement committed through new technologies, and promote the improvement of law enforcement and judicial standards.
They will also conduct joint research on key and difficult issues in IPR protection, providing references for competent authorities to improve laws and regulations and formulate policy documents.
In addition, the memorandum outlines cooperation plans between the SPP and the CFLAC in such fields as case publication and resource utilization, coordinating efforts to promote comprehensive governance, and enhancing legal publicity, education and training.
An official from the SPP's Intellectual Property Procuratorial Department stated that this cooperation will help intensify efforts to combat IPR‑infringement crimes, strengthen coordinated and comprehensive judicial protection in the cultural sector, and stimulate the creativity of literary and artistic professionals.
The official added that procuratorial organs will work hard to implement every aspect of the memorandum in their judicial practice, handle IPR‑related cases involving literature and arts with high quality and efficiency, and safeguard literary and artistic creation through law-based approaches.
An official from the CFLAC's Rights Protection Department said that taking this practical cooperation as an opportunity, the federation will make full use of the regular communication and collaboration mechanism, earnestly implement the memorandum, and effectively translate the strengths of bilateral cooperation into tangible results in protecting the rights and interests of literary and artistic professionals.
