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Taiwan Copy right Concepts
The economic structure of Taiwan has been undergoing rapid changes in the recent thirty years. Taiwan has moved offshore from a labor-intensive industrialized country to an export-oriented economy. With the concentration of capital and technology, and the rapid diversification of hi-tech professional services, the structure of Taiwan industries has also changed greatly since late 1970s. The total annual production value accounted for by technology intensive industries has increased from 60 percent in mid 1980s to 75 percent in mid 1990s. These figures are a clear indication of successful liberation and internationalization of Taiwan economy as a whole.
Taiwan Copyright Advantages
With the advanced technology and mass production of the computer hardware and software, new problems created for society by computer arose. In addition, as the cost of computer hardware declined, the importance of software increased: software is where the action and the money are these days. The total world market for software is now approaching $100 billion a year. Partly as a result, copying computer programs, often referred as software piracy, has become a major growth industry.
At the core of the global copyright problem, Taiwan is one of the “king” of software piracy in Asia. The Business Software Association estimates that U.S. software companies lose over $800 million a year because of Taiwan software piracy. The newest threat to the software and multimedia industries in Taiwan is the use of computers and the internet to illegally digitize and copy information, including software, music, and movies. With the growth of network user populations, it has created a market for pirated products by making illegal copies of the latest software programs, music, and movies available to anyone with a computer, anywhere in the world, at the click of a mouse. Other ways to trade copyright material, such as peer to peer sharing, have also challenged copyright law.
Adequate Intellectual Property Right (IPR) protection is a vital element in the development of high technology, high value-added production, and the professional services. The government of Taiwan is fully aware of this fact. They understand that they must make revisions to its current copyright laws in order to strengthen the degree to which IPR is protected in Taiwan. Over the years, Taiwan government has made progress, the Patent Law has undergone two revisions, the Trademark Law three revisions, and the Copyright Law five revisions.
As for enforcement, apart from increasing the penalties for infringement of rights and increasing the power of Customs officials to inspect suspected counterfeit shipments, the MOEA has also created the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee with responsibility for processing charges of piracy. Awareness-raising and training in IPR issues have also been emphasized by the government over the last few years. Also as to keep up with the development of its hi-tech industries, Taiwan has continually upgraded its IP system to bring it in the line of international standards.
Taiwan Copyright Term of Protection
Generally, the term of copyright ownership is the life of the author plus 50 years, starting at the date of completion. When the date of completion is unknown, the copyright term begins at the date of first publication. In the following instances, the term of copyright will endure for 50 years after the public release of the work:
1） Economic rights for works authored by a juristic person endure for 50 years after the public release of the work; however, if the work is not publicly released within 50 years from the date of completing the creation, the economic rights shall subsist for 50 years after completion of the creation.
2） Economic rights for photographic works, audiovisual works, sound recordings, and performances endure for 50 years after the public release of the work.
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