China's top court has issued a guideline on copyright protection, specifying the rules for claiming copyright ownership of a work.

Natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organizations who sign their names in a work, performance or sound recording shall have the copyright ownership or ownership of the rights related to the copyright, according to the guideline issued by the Supreme People's Court.

Disputes over authorship should be solved based on factors including the nature, type and form of a work, it said.

The guideline also called for a precise definition of the type of a work according to the Copyright Law and proper handling of new types of cases, such as those involving sports game live streaming and infringement of data protection.

China's top legislature has adopted a decision to amend the Copyright Law, which rolls out tougher punishments for copyright infringement, an effort to further enhance the country's protection of intellectual property rights.

The top court has also released a judicial interpretation on civil litigation proof in cases concerning intellectual property rights.

It was intended to reduce the burden of proof for rights holders and allow parties to better exercise their litigation rights in accordance with the law, according to the top court.

The judicial interpretation will take effect on Wednesday.

(Cover photo via VCG)