"China's attitude toward the protection of intellectual property
rights (IPR) is obviously serious and earnest," Jiang Zengwei, vice
minister of commerce said at a press conference in Beijing on
Tuesday. "Under the leadership of the State Council, all
IPR-related departments work together to combat IPR infringements.
And big progress has been made."
Jiang went on to highlight key achievements made to date.
First, after thorough investigations by the General
Administration of Press and Publication, the owners of 14
disc-copying enterprises have been punished.
Second, the central government has mandated the use of genuine
software by government offices and enterprises. By March 30, 2005,
local governments in 36 provinces, autonomous regions,
municipalities and cities which enjoy provincial-level status in
the state economic plan had complied with the mandate.
As of the beginning of this year, 330 municipal governments
across the country received funding to buy genuine software. In
more economically developed areas such as Beijing, Shanghai,
Tianjin, Chongqing and Zhejiang, 123 county level governments have
installed genuine software.
The widespread implementation of genuine software in big
enterprises is to be undertaken this year. Last month, the Ministry
of Information Industry, National Copyright Administration and
Ministry of Commerce issued a requirement that all
computer-producing enterprises are to use only authentic operating
systems.
Third, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce issued
a notice in February 2006 urging local governments to regulate the
wholesale and retail markets. Responding to the notice, the
Shanghai government announced that a market on Xiangyang Road that
is well known for its pirated goods will be shut down at the end of
June.
Fourth, in 2004, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme
People's Procuratorate jointly issued a judicial interpretation of
IPR provisions in the criminal law. They concluded that the
relevant provisions apply to tape and video products. Further, to
facilitate cooperation between administrative and justice
departments, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public
Security, National Office of Rectification and Standardization of
Market Economic Order and Ministry of Supervision jointly released
a document that allows for the transfer of cases from department to
department.
Special courtrooms have also been set up for IPR infringement
cases in the People's Court above intermediate level. A total of
3,567 cases including IPR infringement, production, sale of fake
goods and illegal management were heard in 2005, 27.9 percent
higher than the previous year. 3,529 cases were solved, an increase
of 28.3 percent from the year before.
Fifth, several events related to IPR protection at exhibitions
and trade fairs have been organized and more are in the pipeline.
The Ministry of Commerce, State Administration for Industry and
Commerce, National Copyright Administration, and State Intellectual
Property Office jointly issued "Exhibition-related IPR Protection
Methods" in February.
In addition, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Administration
for Industry and Commerce, National Copyright Administration, State
Intellectual Property Office, General Administration of Customs and
China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT)
announced that 10 major governmental exhibitions and 10 commercial
exhibitions will be targeted for IPR protection between now and
March 2007.
Sixth, China continues to do its part, in accordance with its
World Trade Organization commitments, in terms of bilateral
information exchange with other member countries including the US,
Japan and EU states. For increased transparency in this area, China
regularly seeks public opinion, from foreign enterprises as well,
when drafting laws and rules on IPR. Moreover, the Supreme People's
Court has introduced a special column on its website in which writs
of IPR cases are published.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua, April 13, 2006)