CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yingzi Liu, Tsaopei Wei, Han Zhou, Peng Lan and Kexin Yan, Hylands Law Firm
1. Art Law Framework 1.1 Relevant Authorities and Legislation Within the Chinese jurisdiction in 2026, the field of art law is not governed by a single code but has formed a composite system with the Civil Code as the underly - ing logic, supported by the current Law on the Protec - tion of Cultural Relics, the Copyright Law, the Auction Law, and the Administrative Measures for the Opera - tion of Artworks. Regarding core regulatory authorities: the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is responsible for the overall administrative supervision and policymaking of the art market, focusing on investigating illegal business operations and content violations; and the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) focuses on the legal management of immovable and museum- collected cultural relics – especially after the imple - mentation of the new law in 2025, its guiding role in the registration and filing of private collections has been significantly strengthened. Additionally, the National Copyright Administration is responsible for copyright administration, while the State Administra - tion for Market Regulation (SAMR) exercises author - ity over art auctions, anti-unfair competition and con - sumer rights protection. Under Chinese law, an artist’s rights system consists of two main categories: inalienable moral rights and transferable property rights. According to the Copy - right Law, moral rights include the right of publica - tion, the right of authorship, the right of revision, and the right to protect the integrity of the work. Notably, the right to protect the integrity of the work is par - ticularly crucial in the contemporary art context, as it prohibits others from distorting or tampering with the work against the author’s will, which often trig - gers intense debate regarding the relocation or res - toration of installation art. Property rights cover the rights of reproduction, distribution, rental, exhibition, filming, adaptation and dissemination via information networks. The right of exhibition, as a core source of property income for visual artists, has extended from 2. Rights to Artworks 2.1 Artists’ Rights Over Their Art
traditional physical museums to virtual reality (VR) and metaverse exhibition spaces. Furthermore, with the popularisation of digital watermarking and blockchain certification technologies, artists’ “right to remunera - tion” has received more precise protection in digital distribution channels. 2.2 Copyright in Collaborative Artworks For works created collaboratively by two or more authors, the ownership of copyright follows the prin - ciple of “agreement takes precedence; otherwise, joint ownership”. If the work can be used separately (such as a painting accompanied by a poem), the authors enjoy joint copyright over the whole but may exercise rights over their respective parts individu - ally. If the work is indivisible (such as an oil painting completed together), the copyright is held jointly and exercised through consensus. If co-authors cannot reach an agreement, no party may, without justifi - able reasons, prevent others from exercising rights other than assignment, exclusive licensing or pledg - ing, though the resulting proceeds must be reason - ably distributed among all collaborators. For “col - lective works” (or works of a legal entity) directed by an organisation, representing its will, and for which it bears responsibility, the artist often enjoys only the right of authorship, while the full copyright belongs to the entity. This distinction must be detailed in com - mission contracts to avoid ownership disputes during subsequent commercial development or entry into the secondary market. 3. Protection Against Plagiarism 3.1 Legal Consequences of Copyright Infringement In terms of civil liability, infringers must bear respon - sibilities such as ceasing the infringement, eliminating the impact, offering apologies and compensating for losses. The amount of compensation is determined in an order by the actual loss of the right-holder, the illegal gains of the infringer, or a multiple of the license fee; when the aforementioned criteria are difficult to calculate, the court may apply statutory damages of up to CNY 5 million. In a more deterrent manner, puni - tive damages of up to five times the calculated base may apply to malicious infringements with serious
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