On February 9, 2023, CODA and the Copyright society of China co-hosted a training seminar on copyright protection in Beijing, China.
Training seminars have been held since 2005 as a project commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to provide information on copyright and Japanese content to law enforcement officials and legal professionals in various regions of the world, with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of piracy control of Japanese content in those countries. Recently, it has become an effective forum for exchanging information and opinions on copyright protection between various regions of the world and Japan to deepen cooperation. To date, the program has been held more than 124 times at 34 locations for a total of more than 8,800 people in East Asia, including Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taipei, as well as more recently in the ASEAN region, including Jakarta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Hanoi.
The seminar in Beijing, titled “Japan-China Copyright Protection Seminar,” was held for the 14th time in a hybrid format that, for the first time, allowed the general public from both China and Japan to participate online in addition to the local venue. The local venue was attended by about 50 people from government agencies, rights holders, industry associations, general business people, legal professionals, educators, etc. Online participation was widely invited from CODA members and general rights holders in Japan, and was also live-streamed in China to an audience of approximately 600 people.
At the seminar, Wang Zhicheng, Director General of Copyright Department, National Copyright Administration of China, Hirohiko Nakahara, Deputy Director General of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, Yoshiko Kijima, Minister at the Embassy of Japan in China, and Yan Xiaohong, Chairman of the Copyright society of China, made opening remarks.
Then, Chen Shaoling, Associate Professor of East China University of Political Science and Law, gave a lecture on the revision of the Copyright Law in China, including the embodiment of the rights system, under the title of “Some Issues Concerning the Revision of the ‘Regulations Implementing the Copyright Law”. Megumi Oide, Legal Advisor for International Copyrights at Copyright Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, gave a presentation titled “Recent Trends in Copyright Administration in Japan” on the revision of the Copyright Act in 2021 and the copyright system currently under discussion. Zhao Jie, Director of the Enforcement Supervision Division, of Copyright Department, National Copyright Administration of China, gave a report titled “New Trends in Internet Copyright Protection in China” on the results and future development of the copyright protection campaign implemented in 2022. CODA Representative Director Takero Goto then made a presentation titled “Strengthening CODA’s International Cooperation and Enforcement,” in which he described the actual situation of serious piracy infringement and the results of countermeasures, and proposed the need for international cooperation and enforcement based on these measures.
Zang Lei, a Tencent legal expert, gave a presentation on technological innovations related to copyright on the Internet and its protection, and Nie Ying, an attorney from Tahota Law Firm, gave a lecture on Japanese copyright protection by the Chinese government using “Manga Bank” as an example, providing the latest information on how to protect rights in China for the right holders and related persons in Japan and China.
After the lecture, Nie Ying, an attorney was asked many questions, such as “What advice do you have for enforcing rights in the case of cross-border infringement?”, “What is the actual method of preserving evidence?”, and “What is the most efficient way to solidify evidence?”, Yan Xiaohong, Chairman of the Copyright society of China joined the session and answered the questions.
In closing, Sun Yue, Vice-Chairman and Secretary General of the Copyright society of China, commented, “Both China and Japan were able to share a common understanding of copyright infringement on the Internet. This was a valuable opportunity for both countries to expect a new cooperative relationship in the field of copyright protection,” he summed up, expressing hope for cooperation in the fight against online piracy, which is expanding beyond national borders.
This activity was part of a project entrusted from the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
(translated by automatic translation system)