If a poster uses a famous Chinese historical pai...

5.If a poster uses a famous Chinese historical painting as a background, does that constitute an infringement?

Depending on the type of work and the type of copyright, the protection period of the works’ copyright (except for the right of authorship,alteration and integrity) also varies.

For works whose author is a citizen, the protection period according to Copyright Law of China is the lifetime of the author and fifty years after his death, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the death of the author; in the case of cooperative works, the protection period for the publication rights ends on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the death of the last author.

The protection period of works whose author is a legal entity or other organization according to Copyright Law of China, is fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first publication of the work;however, any such work that has not been published within fifty years,its creation will no longer be protected by the Copyright Law.(https://www.daowen.com)

The protection period of special works: for a cinematographic work or a work created in a way similar to cinematography, the rights under Copyright Law of China are protected for fifty years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first publication of such a work; however, any such work that has not been published within fifty years of its creation will no longer be protected by the Copyright Law.

When a famous historical painting exceeds the protection period, it belongs to the public domain and its use does not constitute an infringement, but it should be noted that the original author’s rights of authorship, alteration and integrity of such works are not limited by the protection period.

Besides, according to The Berne Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the term of copyright protection “shall be prescribed by the laws of the country to which the protection is requested”.Therefore, even if the laws of each member state of the Berne Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works are different from each other, if the works of authors in other countries require the protection of Chinese laws, the provisions of Copyright Law of China on the term of copyright protection shall apply.