Intellectual Property, Information Technology & Cybersecurity

The new amendment in China's Copyright Law (the "Law"), which is slated to take effect on 1st June 2021, would be the first substantive revision of the Law in nearly two decades. The new Law provides a number of good news to copyright petitioners in China:-

• Introducing punitive damages for willful infringement in serious circumstances;
• Raising the ceiling for statutory damages for infringement to RMB 5 million (around USD 760,000);
• Shifting of evidence burden for damages to the defendant; and
• Clearer guideline to include reference to royalties when calculating damages.

These developments are in line with recent legislative developments to amplify deterrence against IP infringement in China.

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