Nation strengthens protection of IPR with latest crackdown

China has strengthened the protection of intellectual property rights and stepped up efforts to crack down on crimes such as infringement and counterfeiting to foster a sound social and business environment.

In the first three months of this year, police nationwide resolved more than 3,800 cases of IPR infringement and counterfeiting, catching about 8,200 suspects, according to data released by the Ministry of Public Security on Friday.

From 2016 to 2020, police across the country cracked more than 90,000 such cases, involving about 47 billion yuan ($7.24 billion). More than 130,000 suspects were captured, ministry figures show.

On Friday, three days ahead of the World Intellectual Property Day, which falls on April 26 every year, the national leading group of fighting IPR infringements and counterfeits also organized a unified action to destroy 700 million yuan worth of infringing and counterfeit commodities in 16 provincial-level regions in the country.

The destruction fully demonstrates that China attaches great importance to IPR protection and its resolute attitude in cracking down on infringement and counterfeit goods, according to the group.

Lyu Wuqin, head of the ministry's Food and Drug Crime Investigation Bureau, said IPR infringement and counterfeits disrupt market order, endanger people's health and vital interests, and also impede scientific and technological progress.

Through working with related departments, the police have promoted the legal protection system and comprehensive governance of IPR, he said on Friday.

"Public security authorities are treating the legitimate rights and interests of all domestic and foreign enterprises in an equal manner, and have received letters of gratitude from many enterprises," he said.

To forge a united effort, the police have actively cooperated with administrative supervision and enforcement departments to better handle case transfer and information sharing, Lyu said.

During last year's Kunlun 2020-an operation launched in May targeting IPR infringement and counterfeiting, about 25 percent of clues for the resolved 21,000 cases were provided by industrial regulators and administrative departments.

On Tuesday, the ministry deployed a new Kunlun 2021 operation to target infringement in fields including food and drugs, children's products, copyrights, technological innovations and business secrets.

Li Jiantao, deputy head of the bureau, said the number of infringement cases is still large and they cover a wider range. Such illegal activities have gradually moved online and are better-organized with clear divisions of labor, he said.

In a typical case, police in Zhejiang province resolved a case of infringement of film and television copyright in February. The 19 suspects were accused of recording and spreading several movies shown during China's Spring Festival.

The suspects recorded the movie clips in the theater, then integrated them into a film after video editing. They used the edited films in their movie bars to earn profits, or contacted other buyers through social media platforms and sold the films, according to the police.

At the invitation of Interpol, Chinese police have also participated in a number of joint international law enforcement operations against counterfeit drugs, food and online infringement and counterfeiting, Lyu said.

"Chinese public security organs have won positive comments from the international community with their achievements, and contributed to the improvement of the global IPR governance system," Lyu said.