This week sees the start of a nationwide series of events aimed
at putting the public at the very heart of efforts to protect
intellectual property rights.
Now in its fourth year, IPR Protection Publicity Week will be
launched at a ceremony held in Beijing's Chaoyang Park on Friday
morning. The event runs until April 26.
Ahead of the official launch, a lecture tour entitled,
"Copyright Protection and Building an Innovative Country" begins in
Beijing, before heading to a minimum of four other cities and
possibly as many as nine.
Lectures will be delivered by experts from government agencies,
academic institutions, and enterprises, and will include Long
Xinmin, minister of the General Administration of Press and
Publications, and Wu Handong, president of Zhongnan University of
Economics and Law.
Law students are also being invited to join in the nationwide
campaign by taking part in a debating competition on copyright
protection. Representatives from eight of the country's top
universities will battle it out, with the opening round taking
place on Saturday between Tsinghua University and Renmin University
of China.
Wang Ziqiang, director of the copyright department of the
National Copyright Administration, said: "The government's
commitment to cracking down on piracy is resolute. We have made
great strides in developing institutional systems and regulations,
but these are useless if we do not have the support of the
public."
This year, in the judicial sector alone, 14 IPR-related laws,
regulations, rules and administrative measures will be drafted,
formulated or revised.
Wang called on the public to be more aware of the need for IPR
protection and "to gradually reduce and eradicate those who profit
from the sale of pirated CDs, DVDs and other illegal
publications.”
Chen Huaiwang, a student at Renmin University, said: "It is
important for university students to raise awareness and to resist
buying pirated goods. Our country will lose its originality and
creativity if we do not protect IPR."
Efforts to crack down on counterfeiters are reaping results.
Over the weekend authorities in 31 provinces and municipalities
destroyed 42 million illegal publications and electronic media
discs.
Consumer Liu Sheng said she was trying to cut down on purchasing
pirated CDs and DVDs.
"I try not to buy pirated ones now, except movies I want to
watch immediately," Liu told China Daily. "Even the number of
pirated CD and DVD vendors is decreasing now."
Wen Zaixing, deputy secretary-general of the State Office of
Intellectual Property Protection said that the nationwide publicity
week, which was inaugurated in 2004, has become an important
platform from which to spread knowledge and details of regulations
on IPR protection across every social stratum.
He said that with the participation of the public, the country's
IPR protection campaign could reach new heights.
The publicity week will also include forums and special events
involving 18 government ministries. These will embrace topics such
as China's principles and position on IPR protection, laws and
regulations and international conventions, new examples of
commercial innovations, and typical IPR protection cases.
This year, authorities are also keen to encourage the public to
report cases of IPR violations via complaint service centers, which
exist in 50 major cities and can be contacted via the hotline
number 12312.
(China Daily April 17, 2007)