Research On Copyright Protection Of Works Of Applied Art

Copyright Law of The People`s Republic of China(2020 Amendment)has not adopted the amendments in the Copyright Law Amendment Draft(Draft for Review)which sets the works of applied art and grants them a 25-year protection period.This is because my country has not reached a consensus on the concept,scope of protection,and protection mode of works of applied art for a long time.The theoretical and practical circles have great differences on the concept of works of applied art,the relationship with works of art and design patents,and copyright protection schemes.In the final analysis,the reason for the disagreement is that works of applied art are creative results in the middle zone between copyright and industrial property rights.They not only possess the characteristics of the object of copyright protection,but also possess the elements protected by design patents.As a cross-border object,works of applied art involve many key issues such as the basic theory of copyright,the object of protection,and the boundary with industrial property rights.How to protect the copyright of works of applied art to better clarify the boundaries of their respective rights,especially the protection boundaries of copyright,has always been a hot and difficult issue in the copyright system.Works of applied art are handicraft products born out of the field of daily life,which have both practical functionality and artistic beauty.It embodies the author’s ingenious ideas and creative work such as the judgment,selection,layout,etc.of the design elements.It belongs to the intellectual achievements that are original and can be expressed in a certain form in the fields of literature,art,and science.It is theoretically justified to protect its copyright.Moreover,with the continuous development of my country’s economy and society,the artistic beauty of works of applied art has become more and more prominent.Incorporating works of applied art that meet certain conditions into the copyright law protection system is an important aspect of realizing rights protection,cultural dissemination and innovation.The current protection path is as works of art to protect in my country’s judicial practice.However,because my country’s copyright law and its implementation regulations do not clearly stipulate this,the legal basis for this protection concept is insufficient.Regarding the protection of works of applied art as an essential element of art works,there are problems such as inconsistent originality and aesthetic judgment standards,and ambiguity in the separation of practicality and artistry.In relation to design patents,the issue of double protection and the validity of copyright after the invalidation of the design patent is avoided.Considering the copyright protection of works of applied art in the United States,the European Union,the United Kingdom,and Japan,these countries generally provide coordinated protection of works of applied art through design systems and copyright systems.In order to avoid the extension of copyright protection to practical functions and impact on the industrial industrial system,countries have imposed restrictions on the copyright protection requirements of works of applied art to varying degrees.These restrictions are mainly divided into two categories: the first category is the separation of practicality and artistry led by the United States,and the development of two separation standards,physical separation and conceptual separation.The other is the higher artistic standards including Britain,Japan and other countries,that is,whether works of applied art can be regarded as pure works of art in terms of appearance.These countries have made useful explorations on the copyright protection of works of applied art,and provided a sample of analysis and reference for our country to solve the problem of copyright protection of works of applied art.However,it should be noted that the exploration and development outside the territory are based on the choices and judgments made by the country’s legislative background and legal tradition.When drawing on and absorbing the experience outside the territory,our country should take into account my country’s national conditions and analyze specific issues in detail.The concept of "art work" in my country’s copyright law is sufficient to cover the content of works of applied art,and it is legitimate to protect works of applied art as works of art.As far as the relationship between practicality and artistry is concerned,works of applied art protected by copyright law should refer to works of practical art whose practicality and artistry are physically inseparable and conceptually separable.Our country’s conceptually separable judgment should be to examine whether the artistry is essentially restricted by practicality from the standpoint of ordinary observers and consumers.For details,we can refer to the alternative space of artistic characteristics and the independence of artistic characteristics after removing practical functions.In terms of originality protection elements,works of applied art protected by copyright law should have significant artistic quality.This means that the artistry of works of applied art is higher than the minimum requirements of pure art works and the aesthetic requirements of design patents.The judgment of "significant artistry" must adhere to the dichotomy of ideological expression,and comprehensively judge whether the artistic feature can be regarded as an artistic creation result from a subjective and objective perspective.At the same time,because copyright and design patent rights have different conditions,scope and duration of protection,works of applied art protected by copyright law can also be protected by patent law if they meet the requirements for design patent rights.Similarly,for designs that have obtained design patents or invalid designs,as long as they meet the requirements for copyright protection of works of applied art,they can also be protected by copyright law.However,it must be emphasized that the prerequisite for allowing dual protection is to tighten the originality requirements of works of applied art,that is,to raise the threshold of copyright protection for works of applied art through a higher degree of artistry.