The Protection Of Copyright In Works Of Applied Art

Works of applied art developed the practical functions on the basis of the art and added value of art in view of the functions, which derived from the works of art. More and more tort cases occurred in related field along with the application and popularization of this kind of work in our daily life. But the lack of relevant legislations of the “copyright law” in China leads to the chance for infringer and makes the creator paler in the way of claiming rights. The definition of works of applied art was added in ”Copyright law” revised draft for the first time in 2012, which makes up the legislation blank of the research on this issue in China, but it doesn't involve the deep thinking of copyright protection.The paper begins with the definition of works of applied art and requires that it should possess practicality and artistry on the basis of meeting the general requirements of the works. The works of applied art have the practicality and the request of the height of art is lower than that of the art works when compared with it. Industrial design can not be separated from the product itself, which is the protection object of patent law, but the copyright protection of works of applied art requires practicality and artistry to be separated. The paper summed up the problems appears in the judicial practice in our country, which includes the applying of copyright protection standard of art works to the works of applied art, the lack of a clear copyright criteria, the inconsistent protection period in domestic and foreign countries, the unclear infringement principle and the conflict of different laws, which on the basic of sorting out the international treaty and legal protection standards and models in main typical countries. The paper focuses on the copyright protection of works of applied art, and the author deems that we could learn from the theoretical experience of foreign countries. The object of copyright law for the works of applied art should be cleared and the standard of “originality” and “practicality and artistry could be separated” should be adopted in judging the standard of copyright as the kind of work. The law should try to establish the model of industrial copyright protection, provide the more appropriate term of protection, and standardize the standard of infringement. In addition, author thinks that the choice should be given to the creator under the multiple legal protection system through contrasting the responsibility and effect of copyright law and other intellectual property laws in the protection of works of applied art.Copyright protection serves a “reassurance” for the majority of creators as a life line of innovation. At the same time, the sustainable development of the intellectual property rights is crucial to promote the social progress. Enhancing creative vitality and establishing the copyright protection system of works of applied art should be put on the agenda as soon as possible, in order to enable rapid economic development in our country and avoid being a “hobbled giant” who lacks of culture development.