Chinese courts handled a total of 1,710 cases related to intellectual property right (IPR) violation cases from 2000 to November 2004, up 56.42 percent from the same period of last three years.

The figure was released from a press conference which was jointly held by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People' s Procuratorate here on Tuesday.

From January 2002 to October 2004, China's courts had concluded 2,171 cases related to produce and sell fake products, most of whom also involved IPR infringements, according to the statistics provided by the Supreme People's Court.

"The figure demonstrated that China had strengthened efforts to crack down on IPR infringement issues, since it entered the World Trade Organization (WTO)," said Cao Jianming, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court.

Zhang Geng, deputy Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said the SPP also intensified crack down on IPR violations.

From 2000 to November 2004, all levels of People's Procuratorates approved 2,462 arrests in 1,539 criminal cases involving infringing on intellectual property, and 2,491 persons in 1,500 cases were initiated public prosecution.

Interpretation backs up IPR protection

Intellectual property rights (IPR) have become the cornerstone of legal protection in information- and knowledge-based economies.

China's recent release of the judicial interpretation on IPR-infringement criminal cases testifies to the country's updated efforts to fight the crime.

The 17-article interpretation, which takes effect today, materializes the legal principles in the previous IPR-related laws, with its first seven articles dedicated to the explanation of categories in the Criminal Law on IPR infringement.

Focusing on lowering the bar for dealing with such breaches as crimes, the interpretation makes it easier to mete out deterrent punishment for IPR violations.

The move fully demonstrates the country's firm determination to stamp out IPR-infringing crimes, which are costly not only to the victimized firms and individuals, but also to the country's overall investment and market environment. Rampant piracy, for example, will definitely lead to less confidence in innovation and the independent development of technology.

China cannot afford this.

As a developing country with an immature market economy, China has seen its efforts to curb IPR violations suffer from occasional setbacks given the country's vast size and complex economic situation.

But it never backs down.

In recent years, especially since China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) three years ago, the nation has dealt with an increasing number of IPR-related cases. In 2003 alone, 9,271 cases were handled by courts at various levels.

Since 2000, the Supreme People's Court has promulgated 25 documents interpreting IPR issues.

Ministry of Public Security statistics show between 2002 and 2003 police cracked down on more than 2,000 IPR-related crimes, involving about 1 billion yuan (US$120 million).

Meanwhile, police departments are launching the "Eagle Programme," a year-long crackdown on crimes related to brand names or intellectual property.

During this year's meeting of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in April, Vice-Premier Wu Yi vowed to devote greater efforts to the protection of intellectual property rights and the enforcement of related laws.

The current judicial interpretation shows the country is serious about this commitment.

What is noteworthy is that the new interpretation was formulated on the basis of widespread public consultation. For the first time, the opinions of foreign enterprises and organizations were taken into account in the process of drafting the interpretation.

There are two schools of thought in the international community on China's IPR protection. One is severe criticism citing China's rising IPR infringement records; the other is commendation recognizing the country's relentless efforts to fulfil its WTO commitment to stop the scourge.

Both sides of the coin should be taken into consideration when evaluating China's IPR protection efforts.

While adopting the right attitude of seriously weighing criticisms, it is more important for China to continue its consistent endeavours to protect IPR.

Challenges lie ahead, with local protectionism and cross-provincial and cross-border trafficking of fake goods remaining a hard nut to crack.

Smashing the criminal networks that traffic in counterfeit goods and curbing trade of pirated and counterfeit goods demands the sincere co-operation of all nations.

(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily December 22, 2004)