Laws of the People's Republic of China

   Article 2 When the work of a writer or translator is published or issued, appropriate remuneration shall be given in accordance with the quality of the manuscript and the degree of difficulty in writing or translating the work. For the first edition of a book, the writer or translator shall be paid a base fee calculated in accordance with the number of words in the manuscript, as well as a print run fee calculated in accordance with the number of copies printed. For subsequent reprints, the writer or translator shall not be paid a base fee, but shall only receive a print run fee.

   Article 3 Base fee standards:

(1) Original manuscripts: between 10 yuan and 30 yuan per 1,000 words. For scientific writings of truly significant academic worth, including treatises on areas of the natural sciences, social sciences or the theory of literature or art, the payment standard may be increased appropriately in accordance with the degree of excellence of the work, but shall not exceed 40 yuan per 1,000 words.

(2) Translated manuscripts: between 8 yuan and 24 yuan per 1,000 words. For an excellent translation of a work considered to be particularly difficult to translate, the payment standard may be increased appropriately, but shall not exceed 35 yuan per 1,000 words.

When a foreign language manuscript is translated into Chinese, no payment shall be made to the author of the original work, while the translator shall be paid in accordance with the aforesaid standards.

When a Chinese language manuscript is translated into a foreign language, the translator shall be paid in accordance with the standards prescribed in item (1) of these Regulations. The author of the original work shall receive between 20% and 40% of the amount paid to the translator.

When a minority nationality language manuscript is translated into Chinese, the author of the original work shall be paid 60% of the amount payable in accordance with the standards prescribed in item (1) of these Regulations.

Payment made to the translator of a minority nationality language manuscript shall be calculated in accordance with the standard prescribed for the translation of a foreign language into Chinese, plus an additional 25% to 30%.

When a Chinese language manuscript is translated into a minority nationality language, the author of the original shall not receive any remuneration.

(3) Ancient manuscripts:

Payment for the collection and collation of ancient manuscripts or their modern translation or the addition of commentaries, explanatory notes or interpretations shall be between 9 yuan and 18 yuan per 1,000 words. For high quality work achieved in spite of the task being particularly difficult, payment may be increased appropriately, but shall not exceed 30 yuan per 1,000 words.

Payment for the recording and compilation of ancient material shall be between 5 yuan and 12 yuan per 1,000 words. (No print run fee shall be paid.)

Payment for adding punctuation to unpunctuated ancient manuscripts or proofreading and correcting errors shall be between 4 yuan and 8 yuan per 1,000 words. (No print run fee shall be paid.)

Payment for punctuation, together with a normal amount of collation, shall be between 5 yuan and 10 yuan per 1,000 words. In a case of difficult punctuation, together with a large amount of collation work, payment may be increased appropriately, but shall not exceed 15 yuan per 1,000 words. (In all such cases no print run fee shall be paid.)

(4) Dictionary manuscripts:

Payment for dictionary items shall be made pursuant to the standards prescribed in item (1) of these Regulations with calculations based on the number of words per complete page, plus an additional base fee of between 15% and 25%. No print run fee shall be paid.

Payment for selection and editing work for encyclopedias shall be between 24 yuan and 30 yuan per 1,000 words, plus an additional base fee of between 20% and 30%. No print run fee shall be paid.

(5) For the adaption or abridgment of the work of another writer, the adaptor shall be paid between 40% and 60% of the amount payable pursuant to the standards prescribed by item (1) of these Regulations. In addition, the original author shall be paid between 20% and 40% of the amount paid to the adaptor and the original publisher shall be paid between 10% and 20% of the amount paid to the adaptor.

(6) Payment for proofreading a translated work against the original shall be between 4 yuan and 10 yuan per 1,000 words. No print run fee shall be paid. If a translator commissions another party to proofread a manuscript, payment shall be met by the translator himself. If a publisher commissions another party to proofread a manuscript, payment shall be met by the publisher.

(7) Payment for indexing and compiling information on books and reference materials shall be between 3 yuan and 7 yuan per 1,000 words. No print run fee shall be paid.

(8) When books are produced as the result of a publisher commissioning persons from outside the publishing house to select and edit works, a compilation fee of between 20 yuan and 30 yuan per 10,000 words shall be paid. No print run fee shall be paid.

When a publisher commissions persons from outside the publishing house to edit manuscripts, an editing fee of between 20 yuan and 30 yuan per 10,000 words shall be paid. No print run fee shall be paid.

(9) When a publisher commissions persons from outside the publishing house to go over manuscripts, an examination fee shall be paid. In ordinary circumstances the examination fee shall be between 10 yuan and 20 yuan per 10,000 words. For a difficult treatise, payment may be increased appropriately, but shall not exceed 40 yuan per 10,000 words. No print run fee shall be paid.

   Article 4 Print run fees:

1 Print run fees paid on ordinary manuscripts shall be calculated as a percentage of the total base fee:

(1) For a print run of up to 10,000 copies, payment shall be calculated at 8% of the base fee.

(2) For a print run in excess of 10,000 copies, payment calculations for copies in excess of 10,000 shall be based on a 1,000 copies unit (amounts less than 1,000 copies shall be calculated as for 1,000 copies), with 0.8% of the base fee paid for every 1,000 copies.

2 In the case of a treatise of truly significant scientific theoretic or research value with only a relatively small print run, a print run of less than 10,000 copies shall be calculated as for 10,000 copies at 30% of the base fee. For a print run in excess of 10,000 copies, payment shall be made pursuant to the provisions of item (2) of 1, of this Article.

3 When calculating print run fees pursuant to items (1) and (2) of this Article, the cumulative total of copies printed shall be calculated for each reprint. Regardless of whether it is a first edition or a reprint, the publisher shall record the print run accurately on the publication data page.

4 In the case of books used for study purposed, temporary teaching materials or other original or translated works which, due to other objective reasons, are printed and distributed in large quantities, if the print run for the two-year period after the initial publication is less than 10,000, payment shall be made pursuant to the standards prescribed in item (1) of this Article. Payment on copies in excess of 10,000 shall be between 30% and 50% of the amount payable pursuant to the standards prescribed in item (1) of this Article, depending on the circumstances.

   Article 5 When writings previously reported in newspapers or periodicals are published as a personal collection, the writer shall receive both a base fee and print run fee. If newspaper articles by different writers are selected for publication in a joint collection, the writers shall only be paid a base fee. No print run fee shall be paid. If a publisher commissions a number of persons to write separate articles on interrelated subjects, both a base fee and print run fee shall be paid. If a publisher commissions a number of persons to write articles independently (with no interrelation) for a joint collection, only a base fee shall be paid. No print run fee shall be paid.

If a periodical reprints an article previously published in another newspaper, the original author shall be paid between 20% and 40% of the amount payable in accordance with the standards prescribed in item (1) of Article 3 and the newspaper which first published the item shall be paid between 10% and 15% of the amount payable in accordance with the standards prescribed in item (1) of Article 3

   Article 6 When a manuscript accepted for publication by a publisher is unable to be published through no fault of the author, the publisher shall pay the author a manuscript fee of between 30% and 50% of the base fee payable (with ownership of the manuscript to be retained by the author). If an article commissioned by a publisher is unable to be published because it fails to meet the required standards, the publisher may pay a small commission fee, depending on the circumstances.

   Article 7 For the reprinting or checking and reprinting of works published before liberation, a base fee shall be paid in part or in full (see Article 8 for payment measures relating to the works of a deceased author). If works published (or reprinted) after liberation, for which base fee have already been paid, are reprinted or compiled into a personal collection (including the complete works, selected works or collected works of an individual writer) or a joint collection with other writers, a base fee shall not be paid again. Only a print run fee shall be paid. If a work is reprinted after being revised, a revision fee shall be paid with the amount paid based on the extent of the revision undertaken. A revision fee shall be paid in accordance with the actual amount of supplementary material. If the quality of a work is markedly improved after undergoing revision, a part or the entire amount of the original base fee can be paid anew, but the print run fee shall still be calculated on the accumulative total of previous print runs.

   Article 8 Inheritance of payments made to deceased writers shall be handled in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) In the case of a writer deceased for less than 30 years, if publishing posthumous works which have not been published before, both a base fee and print run fee shall be paid. If reprinting such works, only a print run fee shall be paid. No base fee shall be paid.

(2) In the case of a writer deceased for more than 30 years, no base fee or print run fee need be paid if reprinting the works. If publishing posthumous works for the first time, both a base fee and print run fee shall still be paid.

   Article 9 If the one manuscript is published in separate editions with different typeface, published with several different types of bindings and layouts, republished under a different name, published after being assigned from one publisher to another or edited into another book, a base fee shall only be paid once on the edition first published and not on subsequent editions. The print runs, however, shall be calculated accumulatively for payment of the print run fee.

If a publisher has one book title printed in a number of localities or has works printed with equipment leased from local publishers, these print runs shall be calculated accumulatively together with all other print runs. Print run fees shall be paid by the publisher which supplied the equipment.

   Article 10 1,000 words shall be the unit of calculation for base fee payments, with less than 1,000 words being classed as 1,000 words. For poetry, every 10 lines of verse shall be classed as 1,000 words (ballad singing, story telling, comic dialogue and other types of folk art in verse form shall be calculated as for poetry). Payment for old-style poetry may be increased where deemed appropriate. Methods of payment for musical compositions, song lyrics, drawings, maps, etc, shall be prescribed in separate legislation.

For payment purposes, calculation of the number of words shall be based on the main body of a work. Calculations shall be based on the multiplication of the number of words in a line and the number of lines on a typeset page. If the words at the end of a paragraph are insufficient to make a complete line, it shall be calculated as one line. A title or heading shall be counted as a full line. If punctuation marks are typeset outside the lines, an additional 1/10 shall be added to the number of words.

No payment shall be made for introductory remarks, directions, explanatory notes, tables of contents, indexes and other appendiees added by the editorial department of a publishing house, or words on book spines, remarks in top margins, page numbers of typeset pages, reproductions in translated works of diagrams from the original works or reprints of documents and other material in the appendices. If, however, translated text appears in appendices and diagrams in translated works, this translated text shall be included in payment calculations.

   Article 11 Only a base fee shall be paid for book cover and diagram designs and the compilation of Chinese language/foreign language comparable translation tables. No print run fee shall be paid. Payment standards shall be drawn up in separate legislation.

   Article 12 A publisher and a writer shall sign a commissioned work contract or a publishing contract. Contract provisions shall stipulate whether or not advance payments are to be made. In all cases, however, total payments shall be settled within one month of a work's publication. For each reprint, print run fees shall be settled within one month of publication.

   Article 13 On the publication of a book, the publisher shall give the author a number of sample copies. In normal circumstances between 10 and 20 copies may be given, while in special circumstances the number may be increased or reduced as deemed appropriate. Special consideration shall be given to an author wanting to purchase his own book. Purchases of up to 100 copies may be sold at the wholesale discount rate. In special circumstances, the number of books for sale may be increased or reduced as deemed appropriate.

   Article 14 The works of compatriots from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao shall be paid for in renminbi in accordance with these regulations. In the case of works of foreigners (including foreign nationals of Chinese descent) (yet to be published overseas), payment shall be made with reference to these Regulations when the works are published within China for the first time (not including translations or reprints).

   Article 15 Based on these Regulations, the various publishing houses may formulate their own payment implementing measures in accordance with their actual circumstances and, subject to their higher level departments in charge approving such measures, shall report the details to the relevant publishing administrative organs and the State Copyright Bureau for their records. All levels of the publishing administrative organs and the authorities in charge of publishing houses shall improve their control and supervision of payments. A publishing house shall not increase or reduce its payment standards at will. In the event of a violation, copyright administrative authorities shall order the matter to be rectified. All publishing houses shall implement a three-tier system whereby payment amounts are examined and verified by the responsible editor, the head of the editorial room and the editor-in- chief.

   Article 16 The payment standards stipulated in these Provisional Regulations can be referred to by the publishers of newspapers and periodicals, but print run fees shall not be paid.

   Article 17 These Provisional Regulations shall take effect from 1 July 1990. The date of publication recorded within each edition of a book shall be the date on which payment calculations are based. The base fee and print run fee for a first edition of a book shall be paid in accordance with the standards stipulated in these Provisional Regulations. The print run fee for a reprint shall be paid pursuant to the provisions of Article 4, based on the base fee amount calculated in accordance with these Provisional Regulations.

   Article 18 The State Copyright Bureau shall have the right to interpret these regulations.