Copyrighted Digital Content Can be the Object of a Pledge.　The Taiwan Government’s Promotion of the Digital Content Industry Facilitates the Pledge of Intangible Assets.

　The draft of statute governing the digital content industry’s development was passed at the Executive Yuan’s meeting, which provides and establishes a mechanism governing the registration of pledge.  This mechanism will operate to facilitate and enable the providers of digital content, such as computer animation or digital games, to put their digital contents in pledge for a loan from the bank based on the value of the subject digital content as appraised by the intangible asset appraisal system.  In this regard, the providers can apply with the TIPO for registering a pledge of their copyrighted digital content as long as the providers have come to an agreement with the bank with respect to the conditions/terms of the appraisal and the pledge through the intangible asset appraisal system.

　Besides, the digital content industry has been confronting a thorny situation involving orphan works (works for which their authors can no longer be found).  In the future, the exploiter of orphan works can act on the above-mentioned mechanism to apply with the competent authority for compulsory license for the orphan works which have been publicly released and whose authors are unknown, provided that they have made full efforts and paid remuneration for their use of such works. (2007.07)

/CCS