The National Copyright Administration of China ("NCAC") has recently issued the Opinions on Legally Strengthening the Administration of Resident Representative Offices Established in China by Foreign Copyright Certification Institutions (the "Opinions"), immediately effective from the date of issuance.
According to the Opinions, the NCAC is the body governing the business of resident representative offices established in China by foreign copyright certification institutions, and the public security organ under the State Council and the public security organs under the provincial people's governments are the bodies governing the registration of resident representative offices established in China by foreign copyright certification institutions. In addition, the Opinions clearly state that in recruiting and employing staff members in China, the resident representative offices established in China by foreign copyright certification institutions shall abide by Chinese laws and regulations, and submit, in a timely manner, information about the staff members they have employed to the NCAC for record-filing. Moreover, the Opinions stipulate that where foreign copyright certification institutions as well as their resident representative offices in China, breach any Chinese laws, regulations or national policies, the NCAC may, as the case may be, take different measures, including holding talks to admonish them, ordering them to make corrections, suspending the examination and approval process for relevant documents, dismissing their record-filing applications, and advising the public security organ and other authorities to deal with them accordingly.