Parody And Copyright Protection

Since the film A Cass Caused by a Bun (called The Bun for short in the following) was shown to the public, people have discussed a lot about its funny expression and relationship with The Promise. Some hold that The Bun has infringed on the latter producer's copyright, while more people believe that The Bun is a legal works, which could be called parody and thought to be a kind of fair use in copyright law. It's a pity that parody hadn't been provided explicitly in Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China. This paper focuses on parody, discusses its particular details and suggests that parody should be stipulated directly in our country's legislation.The paper is divided into four sections. In the first section, the author analyzes the basic theory of parody. The conception of parody is firstly discussed. Secondly, a legal parody works contains three essential factors: it should form a new works, be targeted in taunting the original works and quote properly. Lastly, the legitimacy and nature of parody are discussed. The parody is a special legal comment.In the second section, the legitimacy of parody is discussed specifically form the value of law philosophy, purpose of copyright law and the freedom of speech in constitution. Parody conforms to pursuit of law philosophy and copyright law. Besides, as a way of expression, parody is helpful to the realization of speech freedom.In the third section, the author illustrates different provisions of parody in western countries. These legislations can be divided into two categories: statutory law and common law. Although the concrete provisions have differences between each other, western countries usually consider parody as a kind of fair use and an exception of tort. In the last section, the necessity of parody in our country is proved and it is suggested that parody be provided directly in our country's legislation. In the first place, the author points that parody has the possibility of its appliance in present legislation but it isn't stipulated directly. In the second place, the author holds that it is quite necessary for our country to stipulate parody directly. In the last place, the author puts forward the concrete design. It is suggested that parody be provided in the 22nd item of Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China.