Quoting Copyrighted Material in China: Check Purpose, Extent and Context

By Pan Jianxing · Published 3 November 2026

An overseas company preparing an article or presentation for China may want to reproduce a passage, photograph or chart created by someone else. The team may assume that adding the author’s name makes the use permissible. Attribution is important, but it is not a general licence. The legal review should identify the material, the reason for using it and the context in which the audience will encounter it.

Identify the exception actually relied upon

Article 24 of the Copyright Law permits certain uses without permission or payment, subject to its conditions. Item (2) concerns appropriate quotation of another person’s published work within a work, to introduce or comment on a work or explain an issue. A general statement that the use is “fair” should not replace identification of the applicable Chinese rule.

The article’s opening paragraph also requires identification of the author and work and prohibits interference with normal exploitation or unreasonable prejudice to the rights holder’s legitimate interests. Review these requirements together. A citation can satisfy an important attribution step while leaving purpose, extent or market impact unresolved.

Confirm what was published and by whom

Keep a copy of the source as encountered, its URL, publication details and access date. Identify the actual author and work rather than assuming that the website displaying it owns all relevant rights. A repost may omit the original credit or change the title. Trace it back where reasonably possible and record any uncertainty.

Distinguish public disclosure from permission to disclose. Article 8 of the copyright judicial interpretation as amended in 2026 defines making a work public by disclosure to unspecified persons, without requiring actual public awareness; the amendment removed the authorisation qualification. An unauthorised disclosure can therefore still be public disclosure. Establish what happened rather than treating every leak as unpublished or every private file as public. Public availability still does not establish a general right to reproduce the work.

Explain why this material is needed

Write a short explanation connecting the excerpt to the surrounding analysis. What proposition does it help explain? What aspect of the source work is being introduced or criticised? If the same asset is used mainly to decorate a page or attract attention to a product, identify that commercial presentation honestly instead of describing every reproduction as commentary.

In a hypothetical review of a report’s methodology, a limited extract may allow the reviewer to discuss the wording actually used. Reproducing the report’s most valuable tables as a downloadable substitute raises a different problem. These examples illustrate the inquiry; they do not predict the result of a particular dispute.

Review extent without inventing a numerical safe harbour

Article 24 does not provide a universal percentage or word limit for appropriate quotation. A short extract can still contain a work’s distinctive core, while a bare count of copied pages may miss the role of the material. Explain why the selected amount supports the stated purpose and whether a smaller excerpt would work.

Consider the copied material’s quality and function as well as its length. A complete image, chart or short work may present different questions from a few sentences of a long text. Do not assume that resizing, cropping or lowering resolution automatically makes reproduction lawful. Preserve the proposed layout for review rather than assessing an isolated asset divorced from the finished page.

Check attribution and the surrounding presentation

Use the author’s name and work title accurately, and retain the source details needed to verify them. Put the credit where it is reasonably connected to the quoted material. A generic footer saying that all rights belong to their owners does not explain which work was used, its author or the basis for the use.

Check whether editing or translation changes the meaning conveyed. Keep the source excerpt, any translated version and the surrounding text together in the review file. Attribution should not suggest that the author endorses the company, product or conclusion. Permission for other uses, where needed, should be documented separately.

Assess the actual channel and audience

Review each planned use: an internal presentation, a public website, a social post, a downloadable brochure or an advertisement. A decision made for one context should not automatically be copied into another. Consider how the audience obtains the material and whether the reproduction could substitute for accessing or licensing the original.

For a rights holder investigating an alleged quotation, preserve the complete page, surrounding discussion, credits, downloadable files and commercial context. A cropped screenshot showing only the copied passage may obscure either the justification or the problem. Identify the exact material and use that the complaint would address, rather than asserting that any quotation is necessarily unlawful.

A practical approval file should contain the original source, proposed excerpt, stated purpose, full layout, attribution and assessment of alternatives. If a material condition remains unsupported, obtain permission or revise the use before publication. A documented review improves decision-making but does not guarantee that a court will accept the exception.

Contact Pan Jianxing with the public source link and a non-confidential description of the proposed or disputed use. Private drafts and licensing documents can follow after the conflict check and secure document arrangements.

Pan Jianxing
China-qualified lawyer · Partner, 北京市长安律师事务所
Beijing & Shenzhen
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