Research On State-Owned Copyright Of Heirless Works

Since 2007,when Mass Publishing House applied to identify the autobiography of Pu Yi "From Emperor to Citizen” as heirless work,there has been widespread concern on heirless works.The National Copyright Administration held a meeting to solicit opinions on the draft of Administration Measures of State-Owned Copyright.At the meeting,it was clarified that heirless works belong to the state-owned copyright,which is basically in line with the legislative model stipulated in the current law of China,that is,except for the case where the deceased was a member of a collective ownership organization during his lifetime,the heirless works belong to the state.However,there are currently two different legislative models in the world regarding the ownership of heirless works.An heirless work either becomes state-owned or enters public domain directly.This is also a controversial topic among China scholars.In addition,the Administration Measures of State-Owned Copyright has not been released yet,and the systematic legislation on the heirless work copyright has been absent for a long time,which has caused scholars to question the state ownership of heirless works.In this case,there is no legal basis for the protection and utilization of heirless works.As such,these heirless works cannot realize their complete cultural and social value.In addition to clarifying the concepts,causes and the current issues regarding heirless works,this article on the one hand,analyzes the different theories and legislation models in the world,and demonstrates the legitimacy of adopting the state-owned model in China at this stage;on the other hand,proposes management rules for the state-owned copyright of heirless works which suits China’s actual conditions.Specifically,this article discusses the authority in charge,authorization process,copyright fees and profit distribution,and puts forward feasible solutions to the problems in obtaining state-owned copyrights and receiving legal remedies for copyright infringements,in order to fully protect the state-owned copyright of heirless works and maximize their value.