Legislators planned to cosign for amendments to the Copyright Law which prohibits parallel-import

 In the public hearing held at the Legislative Yuan yesterday concerning the bill for amendments to the Copyright Law, the focus questioned by the legislators was not the previously disputable issues about temporary reproduction, communication to the public, offenses subject to public prosecution and criminal liability, etc. but the provisions of Item 4, Article 87 of the Copyright Law which was not covered in the scope of amendments this time, to the effect that “To import the original or any copies of a work without the authorization of the economic rights owner shall be deemed infringement of copyright right or plate rights.” Some legislators considered that this rule obstructs the channel of parallel-importing genuine goods and influences free circulation of international goods, in which case consumers’ rights and benefits are damaged.

The Intellectual Property Office (”IPO”) of Ministry of Economic Affairs indicated that the primary significance of this rule is to protect an economic rights owner’s right to import, that is, the import of a work must be authorized by the economic rights owner of such work. Given that the Copyright Law adopts the principle of territory, an author is entitled to copyright upon completion of his work, including moral rights and economic rights. Economic rights cover the right to reproduce the work, the right to lease the work and so on. If a person arbitrarily imports any work without the authorization of the economic rights owner, he shall be deem a copyright infringer unless otherwise provided by the Copyright Law.