Re-evaluating copyright liability for hyperlink providers of audio-visual works in China

This thesis re-evaluates copyright liability for providers of hyperlinks to audio-visual works in China. The 'hyperlinking' being examined is named 'special hyperlinking', where a linker can make a work available to the public on their linking website. The public no longer navigates to the host site of that work to access it. Regulating special hyperlinking has been a contentious issue due to its controversial impacts of infringing copyright and promoting Internet efficiency. This thesis concentrates on China's regulation, and its core research objective is to improve that regulation by proposing a feasible and practical regulatory framework.

Adopting doctrinal, comparative, and historical research methods, this thesis first investigates China's need to regulate special hyperlinking. It finds that China is in need of appropriate regulation to balance copyright protection and the public's access to information. Unfortunately, the existing regulation cannot meet these needs. Conflicting policies and ambiguous rules provide courts with little guidance, resulting in inconsistent interpretations and decisions in special hyperlinking disputes.

Undertaking a China-EU comparative perspective, this thesis compares these two jurisdictions from socio-legal contexts and specific regulatory measures. Upon finding that contextual differences do not prevent China from taking cues from the EU, this thesis obtains insights by critically analysing the EU's practice. It identifies and analyses EU regulatory features that can inform Chinese special hyperlinking laws. It also advocates practices that China should maintain that are better suited to China's indigenous fundamentals.

Finally, this thesis proposes definitive, appropriate, and practical regulation for special hyperlinking to audio-visual works by providing a package of reform recommendations, including general recommendations and specific ones, which function as step-by-step solutions for courts and private parties in China to follow.