A major honor given yesterday to a Chinese CD-ROM about shadow plays underscored the nation's fast-maturing multimedia production sector.

The CD-ROM won first-prize at the Ninth Prix Mobius International Des Multimedia, a high-level event in the field that was held in Beijing this week. Three other Chinese works also received awards.

"That the big prize was given to Chinese works is strong proof that China's multimedia works are excellent," said Ghislaine Azemard, the contest's founder.

Still, more improvements in the legal system are needed to ensure the sector's healthy development. A new Copyright Law enacted on October 24 is expected to help.

"The amended Copyright Law offers better protection and a boost to the development of multimedia productions," said Sun Jianhong, general counsel for the China Audio-Video Association.

The new regulations require publishers and duplicators of a product to obtain authorization from the copyright holder.

(China Daily November 15, 2001)