A bilingual catalogue is the publication an FDI company takes to every fair and sends to every distributor — and the one competitors copy most blatantly: layout lifted, product photos taken, descriptions re-translated. When a copy surfaces, companies hesitate because a catalogue is a composite work with layers of rights from many creators.
The rights structure inside one catalogue
- Several work types in one publication — Article 14 of the IP Law: text is a written work, product photos are photographic works, the layout may be applied art; each layer has its own author and owner.
- Commissioning party’s rights — Article 39: the company contracting the design owns the economic rights unless otherwise agreed; but studio photos and fonts inside still need their own licences.
- Registering the publication — Article 49: registration is not a condition of protection, yet a copyright registration certificate for the catalogue edition is the fastest evidence when asking an e-commerce platform or fair organiser to act on a copy.
- Remedies against copying — Articles 202 to 205: the owner may demand cessation, public apology and damages, or sue civilly; commercial-scale copying can also draw administrative sanctions.
Protecting the catalogue before and after release
- List deliverables in the design contract: print files, source files, original photos and confirmation of licences for fonts and purchased stock images.
- Register copyright in the flagship edition on release and print a copyright notice on the catalogue’s last page.
- When copied, map the copy against the original layer by layer and send an infringement notice to the channels distributing the copy before considering litigation.
The better a catalogue looks, the more it gets copied — that is market reality. FDI companies cannot stop every copy, but with a tight design contract, timely registration and a standard response process, most copying ends at a takedown notice instead of escalating into costly disputes.
Frequently asked questions
We commissioned a bilingual catalogue — who owns the copyright?
Economic rights belong to the commissioning company under Article 39 of the IP Law unless agreed otherwise; embedded photos and fonts follow their own licences.
A competitor copied our catalogue — what can we do?
Preserve original and copy for layer-by-layer comparison, send an infringement notice demanding cessation and damages under Articles 202-205, and complain to the channels distributing the copy.
Should we register catalogue copyright?
Not mandatory since rights arise automatically, but registration under Article 49 makes proving ownership to partners, platforms and courts far quicker.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council