Copyright: China's courts to settle dispute on last emperor's memoir

Xinhua reports the publisher of the autobiography of China's last emperor is seeking for the book's copyright to be declared an "intestate property" in order to resolve a longstanding ownership dispute.

The Beijing-based Qunzhong Publishing House filed a suit at the People's Court of Beijing's Xicheng District, applying for intestate status on the copyright of "The First Half of My Life - From Emperor to Citizen", a long-time bestseller by former child ruler Aisin Giorro Puyi.

The court published a proclamation in the People's Court Daily on Sep. 25, after verifying the application, saying, "The copyright will transfer to the state if no one claims ownership within a year, and profits from the book sales will be nationalized according to the law."

The claim follows reports that Puyi's younger brother, Jin Youzhi, originally named Aisin Giorro Puren, was seeking to claim the copyright.