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Trying To Agree On Three Articles Of Law: The Idea/Expression Dichotomy In Chinese Copyright Law, Stephen J. Mcintyre

Stephen J McIntyre

The idea/expression dichotomy, which holds that copyright protection extends only to expression, but not to ideas, is internationally recognized as a basic principle of copyright law. Yet despite the doctrine’s fundamental importance, China has not codified it in its general copyright statute. This legislative failure threatens to undermine the public-oriented goals of copyright and presents a dilemma to Chinese courts, which are not authorized to make or develop doctrine through recognition of judicial precedent. This Article provides the first in-depth study in English of the idea/expression dichotomy in Chinese copyright law. It demonstrates that, even though the doctrine is not …