Copyright Protection of Jewelry Design

The plagiarism phenomenon of jewelry design is quite serious in China.Most jewelry products sold on the market are modified or even copied just according to jewelry from the international famous brands.Infringement of intellectual property rights is common，which seriously weakens the enthusiasm and the innovation of jewelry design.In order to protect the interests of enterprises and designers，to improve the innovative and competitiveness of jewelry design，to promote the healthy development of jewelry industry，the related issues of copyright protection of jewelry design are discussed in this paper. Based on the classifications and characteristics of the jewelry design, the jewelry types that are suitable for copyright law are put forward. The analysis of content and characteristics of the copyright law in China show that some jewelry design products can be regarded as the works in the copyright law. The commercial jewelry with creativity value and a short life cycle can be treated as works of applied art and art jewelry can be treated as pure art. Both of them can be used as the object of copyright protection. Therefore, three categories of jewelry design protected by copyright law are as follows: firstly, the original commercial jewelry with complex and creative design; secondly, the commercial jewelry with change in general styles or common elements; thirdly, all the art jewelry. On this basis, the author focuses on the infringement act of copyright, the affirmation of infringement, the measurements and procedures of safeguarding rights of the jewelry design. For the jewelry industry, the infringement behavior is the most common as follows: (1) The copy without any changes; (2) Imitation with slight changes; (3) The use of unauthorized pattern. The affirmation of copyright infringement can be carried out by three steps such as separation, exclusion, comparison. However, the definition standard of similar degree still needs further study. The reasonable and effective measurements for safeguarding rights of jewelry design shall be taken for copyright infringement. Administrative measurements can be used with the help of copyright administrative department. Legal means can also be used by bringing civil lawsuit to local people court and often it is given priority to use administrative means to reduce losses. The other forms of legal protection of jewelry design is also analyzed. Since the ideas can't be protected by copyright law， it may not be able to curb the plagiarism phenomenon on the market effectively. The Patent Law and Antiunfair Competition Law shall be supplement. Finally, some ideas and suggestions are put forward to improve relevant laws and jewelry enterprises. Independent legislation for practical works of art should be carried out under the framework of international conventions by China's legislature as soon as possible. However, in the case of imperfect law, the measurements taken to protect the vital interests and crack down on infringement are concluded, firstly, to attach importance to the protection of intellectual property rights, secondly, to select appropriate legal to protect, thirdly, to be good at using various measures for safeguarding rights.