Copyright Registrations of China: Facts and Figures 2021

The year 2021 witnessed a continued growth in copyright registration in China, with a total of 6,264,378 copyright registrations, up 24.3% over 2020.

I. Copyright Registration of Works

The statistics of the copyright administrations of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and the Copyright Protection Center of China (CPCC) showed that there were 3,983,943 copyright registrations of works in 2021, up 20.13% over the previous year.

Overall, China’s copyright registrations of works witnessed a steady upward trend. Major contributors included Beijing with 1,025,511 registrations that accounted 25.74% of the national total, followed by CPCC (527,432, 13.24%), Jiangsu (371,776,9.33%), Shanghai (345,583, 8.67%), Shandong (230,814, 5.79%), and Guizhou (200,929, 5.04%). The aforesaid registrations took up 67.82% of the national total. Compared with 2020, the copyright registrations of works in Hunan, Hebei, Yunnan and Anhui increased by more than 100%, and those of Gansu, Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Henan and Hubei, among others, increased by more than 50%.

In respect of the categories of works, 1,670,092 works of fine arts were registered, accounting for 41.92% of the total, followed by photographic works (1,553,318, 38.99%), written works (295,729, 7.42%) and film and television works (244,538, 6.14%). These aforesaid categories of works accounted for 94.47% of the total. In addition, 58,048 sound recordings (1.46%), 50,851 musical works (1.28%), 25,152 graphic works (0.63%), 21,558 video recordings (0.54%) and 64,657 models, dramas, folk art and architectural works combined (1.62%) were respectively registered.

II. Copyright Registration of Computer Software

According to CPCC’s statistics, there were copyright registrations of 2,280,063 pieces of computer software in 2021nationwide, up by 32.34% year on year.

In terms of regions of registration, East China stood out with approximately 1.44 million pieces registered, taking up 63.1% of the total.

In terms of regional growth of registration, Northeast China reported the fastest growth with an increase of 79%, followed by West China (55%), Central China ( 31%) and East China ( 25 %).

In terms of provinces of registration, Guangdong, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Beijing, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Shandong, Hubei, Fujian and Shaanxi, in descending order, altogether registered approximately 1.63 million pieces (71.5% of the total), far more than the rest of provinces. Guangdong alone registered about 270,000 pieces (11.8% of the total).

III. Registration of Copyright Pledges

According to CPCC’s statistics, 372 copyright pledges were registered in 2021 nationwide, down by 3.13% year on year. To be more specific, the number of contracts involved increased by 4.69% year on year to 357, and the amounts of principal debts involved rose by 11.59% year on year to RMB 4,529,062,000, whereas the number of works involved fell by 12.43% year on year to 1,078 and the guarantee amounts involved declined by 10.31% year on year to RMB 4,329,861,000.

340 copyright pledges of computer software were registered, reporting a year-on-year increase of 3.98%; the number of contracts involved grew by 3.98% year on year to 340; the number of software involved dropped by 10.90% year on year to 1,046 pieces; the amounts of principal debts involved rose by 7.94% year on year to RMB 4,098,727,000; and the guarantee amounts involved grew by 6.27% year on year to RMB 3,899,526,000.

32 copyright pledges of works (other than computer software) were registered, down by 43.86% year on year; the number of contracts involved increased by 21.43% year on year to 17; the number of works involved fell by 67.62% year on year to 32; the amounts of principal debts involved grew by 64.61% year on year to RMB 430,335,000; and the guarantee amounts involved rose by 68.21% year on year to RMB 430,335,000.  

Source: NCAC website