(By Wang Ting and You Yunting) Today we will discuss the legal restrictions and application procedures in regard to the introduction of foreign software into China.

1. Copyright Protection of Imported Software

The Protection of Computer Software Regulations dividends the protection of imported foreign software into two types:

• Software first distributed within the territory of China shall have copyright;
• Software concluded with China by the countries to which the creators belong or in which the creators reside habitually or under the international conventions to which China is a member state shall enjoy its copyright.

China has concluded the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works with more than a hundred countries in the world. Taking that into consideration, under most circumstances if the requirements above can be met, the creator of the introduced software can cite the convention to gain copyright protection which is equal to Chinese citizens.