Most acts of copyright infringement are civil acts, but there are also criminal acts and administrative acts. Infringement of copyright requires civil liability, criminal liability and administrative liability. When assuming civil liability, copyright infringement is a civil act, and its nature changes with different responsibilities.

Copyright is a right of the civil subject stipulated in the civil law, and the phenomenon of copyright infringement often occurs. Accordingly, copyright infringement should be a civil act, but is such an act a civil act? Let me give you a brief analysis, hoping to help you.

1. Is copyright infringement a civil act?

Most acts of copyright infringement are civil acts, but there are also criminal acts and administrative acts.

Second, the responsibility for copyright infringement.

(1) civil liability

It refers to the civil legal consequences that the infringer should bear because of infringement.

1. Civil liability for copyright infringement. First, infringement damages the legitimate rights and interests of others. Damage fact is the premise of tort liability. Second, there is a causal relationship between the actor's behavior and the damage fact, and the actor's behavior leads to or transmits the damage fact. Third, the actor's tort is due to fault. Fourth, the actor must have civil capacity.

2. Forms of civil liability

(1) Stop the infringement. In order to stop the infringement in time and prevent the damage from expanding, the victim may request the people's court to order the infringer to stop the ongoing infringement immediately. For example, at the request of the victim, the people's court may order the publishing house that published infringing books to immediately stop publishing infringing books, and take back, seal up and destroy the published books.

(2) eliminate the impact. To bear this responsibility, the infringer should take effective measures to tell the truth and eliminate the negative impact of his infringement on the copyright owner.

(3) The public does not apologize. That is, in a way that the public can understand. Admit the infringement and apologize to the copyright owner.

(4) Compensation for losses. Compensation for losses is also called compensation for damages. It means that the infringer compensates with his own property to make up for the damage caused by his actions to the assignee. Compensation for property damage is based on actual damage, including direct damage and indirect damage, and compensation exceeding actual damage is not allowed. For compensation for mental damage, it is usually stipulated to stop the infringement, restore reputation and limit economic compensation.

Anyone who commits the following acts of infringement shall bear civil liabilities such as stopping the infringement, eliminating the influence, apologizing and compensating for the losses according to the specific circumstances:

1, publishing his works without the permission of the copyright owner;

2. Publishing a work created in cooperation with others as one's own work without the permission of the co-author;

3, did not participate in the creation, in order to seek personal fame and fortune, signed in other people's works;

4. distorting or tampering with other people's works;

5. Plagiarizing other people's works;

6. Use the work by exhibition, shooting or similar shooting, or use the work by adaptation, translation and annotation without the permission of the copyright owner. Except as otherwise provided by the copyright law;

7, the use of other people's works, should pay remuneration but did not pay;

8. Publishing works or audio-visual products without the permission of the copyright owner or copyright-related obligee of film works and works created by similar film production methods, computer software and audio-visual products, except as otherwise provided by the Copyright Law;

9. Using the layout design of books and periodicals published by publishers without the permission of publishers;

10. Live broadcast or public transmission of a live performance or recording of a performance without the permission of the performer;

1 1, other acts that infringe copyright and neighboring rights.

(2) Criminal responsibility

Criminal responsibility is the criminal legal consequence that the criminal bears because of his criminal behavior.

Performance:

1, crime of copyright infringement. According to the law of our country, for the purpose of making profits, one of the following acts constitutes the crime of copyright infringement. First, copying and distributing literary works, music, movies, television, video works, computer software and other works without the permission of the copyright owner. Second, publish books that others enjoy exclusive publishing rights. Third, reproduce and distribute the videos made by the producers of audio and video recordings without their permission. Fourth, make and sell works of art with fake signatures. For the above-mentioned infringement, if the amount of illegal income is relatively large or there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also or only be fined. If the amount of illegal income is huge, or there are other particularly serious circumstances, 3 points.

He shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than seven years and fined.

2. Crime of selling infringing copies. Article 2 18 of the new criminal law stipulates that selling infringing copies specified in Article 2 17 of this law for profit constitutes the crime of selling infringing copies. If the amount of illegal income is huge, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also or only be fined;

(3) Administrative responsibility

The form of administrative responsibility for copyright infringement is administrative punishment. Administrative punishment is the punishment given by administrative organs to citizens, legal persons or other organizations who violate the provisions of administrative punishment in administrative laws and other laws, but do not constitute a crime.

1. Administrative penalty for copyright infringement. According to the Measures for the Implementation of Copyright Administrative Punishment, the illegal acts subject to administrative punishment include:

(1) Plagiarism, copying other people's works;

(2) reproducing and distributing his works for profit without the permission of the copyright owner;

(3) publishing books with exclusive publishing rights enjoyed by others;

(four) without the permission of the performer, recording and publishing his performance;

(five) without the permission of the producer of audio and video recordings, reproducing and distributing the audio and video recordings made by him;

(six) unauthorized reproduction and distribution of radio and television programs produced by radio stations and television stations;

(seven) the production and sale of counterfeit signature works of art..

2, the form of administrative responsibility

(1) warning. It is the first warning and condemnation given by administrative organs to offenders, and it is mainly applicable to minor violations.

(2) Ordering to stop making and distributing infringing copies. The function of this form of punishment is to make it impossible for the infringer to continue to make profits by making and distributing infringing copies, but it does not touch the gains made by the infringer by making and distributing infringing copies. Therefore, it is not appropriate to use this method alone when the infringer has already obtained benefits.

(3) Confiscation of illegal income. It refers to turning over all the proceeds obtained by the infringer through infringement to the state treasury. This form of punishment is a supplement to the former one, and the combination of the two can make the infringer have nothing.

(4) Confiscation of infringing copies. In order to prevent the infringer from spreading the infringing copies made or not, and continue to cause damage to the victims, it is necessary to confiscate the infringing copies.

(5) Confiscating the production equipment of infringing copies. For those infringers who may continue to infringe, the equipment for making infringing copies should be confiscated, so as to fundamentally eliminate the possibility of continuing to make infringing copies.

(6) fine. Article 5 1 of China's Regulations on the Implementation of Copyright Law stipulates that anyone who plagiarizes other people's works shall be fined from 100 yuan to 5,000 yuan; Whoever counterfeits another person's artistic works shall be fined 1000 yuan to 50000 yuan. For other acts of copyright infringement that can be given administrative punishment, a fine of 1 10,000 yuan to 654.38+10,000 yuan or two to five times the price may be imposed.

Infringement of copyright requires civil liability, criminal liability and administrative liability. When assuming civil liability, copyright infringement is a civil act, and its nature changes with different responsibilities.