Tang Shanxin, deputy director of the Intellectual Property Bureau under the Guangdong provincial government, said the drive would be launched partly to mark the World Intellectual Property Day, which falls on April 26.

During the drive across the province, pirated audio and video compact disks, fake and counterfeit products will be destroyed, and some major cases involving IPR infringement will be prosecuted in public, said the official on Tuesday.

Major areas and markets identified by law enforcement as key areas for the protection of intellectual property rights will be inspected by law enforcement and government officials.

The drive will be a joint effort by a number of law enforcement departments, covering the police, customs and cultural departments.

Guangdong province, China's leading manufacturing and foreign trade area, has scored marked progress in protecting intellectual rights, said the official.

A total of 239 counterfeit and patent infringement cases were handled last year, and 1,207 cases of trademark infringement also tackled.

Law enforcement officers inspected nearly 20,000 software shops, and confiscated 93.83 million illegal audio and video compact disks in the past two years.

(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2003)