SPC issues notice to strengthen protection over heroes’ rights

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China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) recently issued a notice requiring courts at all levels to properly try disputes over the legal rights of heroic Chinese figures.

The notice requires proper handling of cases involving martyrs, including claims for remuneration for the use of Red Classics.

To confirm the value of remuneration for use of Red Classics it’s required to distinguish market-oriented computational methods and avoid calculations that are too simple.

The notice also stipulates protection for the right to launch an action to protect relevant interested parties. According to copyright law, writers of Red Classics enjoy right of authorships, modification and preservation of the integrity of their work.

The procuratorial departments or other departments authorized by law can initiate legal proceeding in the following two conditions: the writer of a Red Classic has already died and interested parties haven’t filed any action, or the rights of name, portrait, reputation and honor of heroes were violated and the immediate relatives haven’t filed a lawsuit.

It’s also emphasized in the notice that rights and interests of both litigant parties and of heroes should be properly defined in Red Classic cases. For example, it’s obligatory to define the category of red classical works and confirm the nature and type of the rights arising n each category.

And in case of major knotty problems in case hearings, local courts should carry out in-depth investigation and research and give full play to the role of the people’s assessor system, according to the notice.

Source: the Supreme People’s Court, at: http://english.court.gov.cn/2018-05/16/content_36214442.htm