Direct answer

Copyright exists on creation; registration helps you prove it, it does not create it.

The Copyright Law protects original works of authorship, including software as a computer-program work. No CNIPA-style grant is required for subsistence. Voluntary registration with the copyright authority is widely used because it eases platform takedowns, customs and court proof. Ownership defaults can surprise foreigners: some employment and commissioned works vest in the creator unless a contract says otherwise — software has its own service-work rules. This live URL remains the automatic-rights explainer. Software copyright has a related pages Quick Answer.

The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

01

Is there an original work, or only an idea?

Ideas, procedures and facts are not copyright subject-matter.

Work
02

Who is the author and who owns it?

Employee, freelancer, joint work or legal-person work.

Title
03

Do you need registration for the channel you care about?

Courts, customs, app stores and e-commerce each ask for different proof.

Proof
04

Is software or a useful article involved?

Software has extra registration practice; appearance may also be a design patent.

Overlap

Working rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Vendor kept copyright
Did the agency contract stay silent on assignment?
You may have a licence, not ownership.
No deposit of code
Can you show the version that was copied?
Registration and repositories are evidence, not magic.
Idea theft only
Did they copy expression, or only a business idea?
Copyright will not stop the idea; trade secret or patent might.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Work and dateFiles, commits, drafts and first publication.
02Chain of titleEmployment, assignment or legal-person-work basis.
03Registration certificateIf filed, the certificate and deposit.
04Infringement copyThe other side’s file, listing or product.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Must we register before we can sue?

No. Subsistence is automatic. Registration is practical evidence and often required by platforms and customs in real life.

Does China copyright follow Berne?

China is a Berne member. Foreign works generally receive protection, but proof and ownership still have to be shown in a China case.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

National laws database (NPC)
CNIPA
PRC Copyright Law
Supreme People’s Court