The Ruling towards China's First Case Concerning Property of Ownerless in the Field of Copyright is Awarded
From Emperor to Citizen is the autobiography of Pu Yi, the last emperor of China. A year ago, People's Publishing House filed an application for ascertaining the book is property of ownerless. It claims that the artist died without a will and has no heir to excise the copyright. Just as one year's notice was about to expire, Miss Jin, who professed herself a niece of Pu Yi's, claimed the copyright before the court. This is China's first case concerning property of ownerless in the field of copyright and obvious draws the most attention. Yesterday the case was terminated by the court's determination, yet the book's copyright ownership is to be subject to a separated action.
August 22, 2007, People's Publishing House filed an application with Beijing Xicheng District People's Court for ascertaining the book From Emperor to Citizen is property of ownerless. It declared that the book was its publication in the early 1960s. In 1967, Pu Yi died, the book's copyright went to his wife Li Shuxian. In 1997, Li Shuxian died without a will and had no successor. As a result, People's Publishing House claims that the book should be ascertained property of ownerless.
Beijing Xicheng District People's Court, having examined and checked the application in accordance with the law, put up a public notice on People's Court Newspaper for people to claim the property in accordance with the provisions of the special procedures on September 25, 2007. The notice stated that if not claimed within one (1) year from the date of notice, the property shall be subject to the court's judgment.
August 22 of this year, Miss Jin, who professed herself a niece of Pu Yi's, claimed the copyright before Beijing Xicheng District People's Court. Miss Jin said it's she and her husband who took care of Li Shuxian in her late years. When she learned of the court's notice, she thought of the proxy handed to her by Li Shuxian before she died, which states that Li Shuxian wanted to auction the copyright of the book and use the proceeds to deal with the remaining matters after her and Pu Yi died. Because the book's copyright is claimed, Beijing Xicheng District People's Court ruled that the case is terminated in accordance with the law.
Law and Case
The copyright ownership is subject to a separated action
The judge explained that the special procedure shall be applied to the petition for determining a property of ownerless. In accordance with The Law of Civil Procedure of the PRC, an application for ascertaining property of ownerless shall be submitted by a citizen, a legal person, or other organization to the basic people's court at the place of the property. If no one claims the property for a year after the public announcement was issued, the people's court shall make a judgment to declare the property is without owner and turn the property over to the treasury of the state or a collective unit. Within the period specified in the notice, if someone claims the copyright, the court shall immediately terminate the procedure without examining the identity and evidence thereof. As a result, the termination of the case does not mean a determination of the copyright ownership, and further a separate prosecution will be needed to solve the problem.