11-01-2011
China vows tougher punishments for copyright piracy
Jan 11 - China has arrested more than 4,000 people for violating
intellectual property rights (IPR) since November and will enforce
tougher punishments to combat the "rampant" problem, a senior
government official said on Tuesday.
A counterfeit Gucci jacket
is on sale for 50 rmb (5 euros) at a market in
China
Gao Feng, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Security's
Economic Crimes Investigation Bureau, told a news conference that
his agency had uncovered more than 2,000 cases since China launched
a six-month campaign to beef up enforcement of intellectual
property rights last November.
The financial value of the cases totalled 2.3 billion yuan ($348
million), Gao said, adding that the number of arrests, cases and
financial value represent a tripling from the same period a year
ago.
"On one hand they demonstrate the achievements we've made in
cracking down on the violation of IPR, on the other hand it also
indicates that IPR violation is still quite rampant and frequent,"
Gao said. "So we want to introduce heavier punishments."
China's lax enforcement of intellectual property rights could
feature in trade talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and his
counterpart Hu Jintao, when the Chinese president visits the United
States next week.
Under mounting pressure from the United States, China has vowed
harsher punishment of copyright piracy, responding with a six-month
campaign aimed at counterfeit books, music, DVDs and software, in
an effort to show that the country is serious about tackling the
problem.
China has promised "concrete results" from the latest crackdown,
but U.S. groups say a sustained effort is necessary to achieve real
results.
Despite China's campaign and repeated vows to get tough, pirated
goods remain widely available on Chinese streets and in shops,
sometimes sold within sight of large propaganda posters denouncing
IPR violations.
The International Intellectual Property Alliance, which
represents U.S. copyright industry groups, has estimated U.S. trade
losses in China due to piracy at $3.5 billion in 2009.
U.S. customs officials say 80 percent of the fake tennis shoes,
clothing, luxury bags and other goods they seize each year at the
border come from China.
(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Alex
Richardson)