On October 24, 2008, the Chinese Literary Copyright Association (hereinafter referred to as “the Association”) was set up in Beijing at the approval of the State Copyright Bureau and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The Association is to exercise collective management of the reproduction right, network-based dissemination right, broadcast right and performance right of literary works which are difficult for the proprietors to exercise or control by themselves individually. At the same time, the Association is also responsible for the collection and delivery of the copyright royalties of literary works carried by textbooks, newspapers and magazines in the circumstance of statutory license.

The establishment of the Association is another big event for the collective management of copyright in China. As an important part of copyright protection system, the collective management system of copyright is a basic step for effective implementation of the Chinese Copyright Law and also a key symbol of the perfection of the copyright system in China. It is the international practice to exercise collective management of individual proprietors’ copyrights in a collective entrustment manner, which can help safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of copyright proprietors and facilitate the extensive dissemination of literary, artistic and science works. Government officials require the Association to do a good job in its structural improvement so as to offer effective service to copyright proprietors, thus playing the role of a bridge in the circumstances of market economy. Government organs should also make active efforts to strengthen the supervision over the Association for guaranteeing the interests of both proprietors and licensees. Meanwhile, the collective management of copyright should be extensively publicized so that the whole society will have a basic understanding of the nature, role and operation mechanism of the Association and create an ideal social atmosphere for the healthy development of the collective management system of copyright in China.