Understanding of "Artistic Works in Outdoor Public Places" in Copyright Law

The works of art in outdoor public places in the Copyright Law refer to sculptures, paintings, calligraphy and other works of art set up or displayed in outdoor public activities. Understanding and using purpose of outdoor public works of art in Copyright Law should be the primary consideration to determine the rational use. Item (10) of Article 22 of the Copyright Law stipulates that an artistic work set up or displayed in an outdoor public place may be copied, painted, photographed or videotaped without the permission of the copyright owner, but the name of the author and the name of the work shall be indicated, and other rights enjoyed by the copyright owner according to this Law shall not be infringed. This provision implies the legislative intention that users should use works of art in good faith in outdoor public places. If the user is for personal learning, appreciation or academic discussion, teaching and other good purposes, this kind of use behavior should be allowed. Otherwise, any behavior of the public using such works in life or study, such as taking photos, will be classified as infringement. This is not only not conducive to the exchange and dissemination of cultural knowledge, but also contrary to the purpose of beautifying the local environment and enhancing the public's aesthetics by artistic works in public places. If the user uses the copyright owner's work for the purpose of defaming others and clinging to reputation, it cannot constitute fair use fundamentally because of its malicious purpose. In addition, Article 18 of the Interpretation stipulates that anyone who copies, paints, photographs or videos sculptures and other artistic works set up or displayed in outdoor public places can reuse their achievements in a reasonable way and scope, which does not constitute infringement. This article does not distinguish between for-profit use and non-profit use, so literally, both for-profit use and non-profit use may constitute reasonable use. However, in combination with the provisions of Article 22, paragraph 10, of the Copyright Law and Article 18 of the Regulations, fair use is a prerequisite, that is, it must not affect the normal use of the work, and it must also reasonably harm the legitimate rights and interests of the copyright owner. Profitable use often occupies the market or potential market of copyright owner's works. Its essence is that users use other people's works without authorization for their own interests, which obviously does not belong to a reasonable way and scope. Therefore, in principle, rational use should be for the purpose of non-profit. People who copy, paint, photograph or video outdoor public works of art can reuse their achievements in a reasonable way and within a reasonable scope, which does not constitute infringement.