China details plan to fight piracy

Beijing, Apr 24: China, under pressure from the United States to rein in rampant counterfeiting, has released an intellectual property protection plan outlining initiatives it said it would take to combat piracy this year.

Earlier this month, the US administration announced cases against China at the WTO over pirated copies of music and movies and for placing market access barriers to US companies offering legitimate products.

China swiftly denounced Washington's complaint as groundless and detrimental to the two countries' trade relations.

The action plan, outlined in a 25-page notice posted on Xinhua news agency Web site yesterday, flagged new legislation, ''mass'' publicity campaigns and international exchanges as tools to combat counterfeiting.

China would draft and implement 14 laws on intellectual property rights and usage, and issue explanations and guiding policies for handling IP violation cases, according to the notice.

China, where pirated Hollywood movies and computer software are sold openly on street corners and in shops for a fraction of the retail price, has said before it is a developing country and needs time to tackle the problem.

The report also promised a publicity campaign to ''increase the whole society's respect for intellectual property rights'' and to recognise ''leading figures and companies'' involved in rights protection.

The action plan is the latest gesture in a series of highly publicised anti-piracy actions in the wake of the US filing cases at the WTO.

Less than a week after the WTO action, China announced a nationwide strike on pirated tapes and DVDs, setting fire to 42 million items, including illegally published music, books, and software, Xinhua reported.

Reuters>