China's National Copyright Administration on Wednesday issued a regulation against news-story copyright infringement, urging Internet media to acquire authorization and pay fees before posting reports produced by print media.

According to the regulation, which was drafted based on China's Copyright Law, any form of republishing of news stories containing producers' creative work on Internet media is illegal until users receive the permit from the original copyright holders by signing authorization agreements and paying fees.

Factual news without creative efforts from producers is not included in the protection against online piracy.

The original producer's name and affiliated media organization should be clearly marked on reposted news. Reposters shouldn't misinterpret the headlines and content of the original stories if modifying them.

Any violation against the regulation will be subject to administrative penalties from NCA and fines will be imposed as well.

The regulation urges print and digital media to establish content-sharing agreements while specifying detailed procedures for legally reposting published news stories.

The regulation provides a timely guideline for news production and republishing against the backdrop of the increasing use of new media, such as Internet portals, social media and mobile news apps, said Yu Cike, director of the copyright management department of NCA.

"Internet media has become the primary vehicle for news with the advantages of being timely, using multimedia technology and providing an interactive experience," Yu said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"However, without sound supervision and tough punishments, some new media develop their business by illegally publishing content produced by traditional media. It's time to tackle this kind of copyright violation, which we used to neglect."