The subject of copyright is the creator of the work, a natural person, legal person or other organization that enjoys copyright rights in accordance with the law.
Copyright holders include:
(1) Author;
(2) Other citizens, legal persons or other organizations that enjoy copyright in accordance with the Copyright Law.
Explanation: This article stipulates the subject of copyright.
1. Types of copyright owners
Copyright owners, that is, copyright owners The bearer of rights and obligations is also called the copyright subject. Copyright holders include the author of the creative work and citizens, legal persons and other organizations that did not participate in the creation of the work but inherit the copyright.
According to the Civil Code, citizens and legal persons have the capacity for civil rights and are the subjects of civil rights. Copyright is a civil right, and citizens and legal persons can naturally become copyright owners. Legal persons can become copyright subjects.
The state is a special civil subject. Under certain circumstances, the state can become the copyright holder. There are usually four situations in which the state becomes the copyright owner:
First, when citizens or legal persons donate the property rights in the copyright to the state, the state becomes the copyright owner.
Second, for works whose authors are unknown, the property rights in the copyright will be nationalized.
Third, if a citizen of a non-collective ownership organization dies without an heir or legatee, the property rights in the copyright belong to the state.
Fourth, if the legal person terminates and there is no one to assume its rights and obligations, the property rights in the copyright belong to the state.
2. Different meanings of copyright owners
Copyright includes personal rights and Property rights in two parts. The personal rights in copyright belong to the author, and the author is the subject of such personal rights. writeWhen the property rights in the copyright have not been transferred, the author is the subject of the property rights. In this case, the author is the full copyright owner.
The property rights in copyright can be separated from the author. After the author transfers the property rights, the recipient of the rights is the subject of the property rights in the copyright, which is usually also called Copyright owner. If the author transfers part of the property rights in the copyright to another person, the other person is the copyright owner who enjoys part of the property rights. If the author transfers all the property rights in the copyright to another person, the other person is the copyright owner who enjoys all the property rights.
The copyright owner is a citizen. After his death, the property rights in the copyright are transferred to the rights recipient. If the copyright owner is a legal person, after the legal person is changed, the property rights in the copyright can be transferred to the right recipient; after the legal person is terminated, the property rights in the copyright are transferred to the right recipient.