US list on China's IPR "does not conform with facts," official

A Chinese government official Tuesday expressed "deep regret" over the US government's action of putting China on a "Priority Watch List" in intellectual property right (IPR) protection, saying "it does not conform with facts."

Zhang Zhigang, office director of the State Work Group on Intellectual Property Rights Protection and also vice minister of commerce, made the remarks at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing.

At the end of April, the US Trade Representative's office said in its annual report on copyright theft that the US government was putting China and 13 other nations on a priority watch list, which subjects the countries to special review of their efforts to deal with the theft of US copyrighted materials such as movies, music and computer software.

Responding to this, Zhang said China has made rapid progress in IPR protection since it signed a memorandum on IPR protection with the United States in 1992, and especially after China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

China took more than 20 years to set up its law system on IPR, which cost more than a century for developed countries, he said. China's laws and regulations not only comply with the WTO rules, but have also gained wide acclaim from the international community.

Since the China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade was launched in 2004, China has fully fulfilled all its commitments, with a high-ranking official working team headed by Vice Premier Wu Yi. China has also carried out a nationwide campaign specialized in IPR protection since last September, and achieved fruitful results.

On April 20 this year, China launched a week-long nationwide campaign at the opportunity of the World Intellectual Property Day, to enhance public awareness of IPR protection.

All these actions proved that China attaches great importance to and has made great efforts in IPR protection, though there were still problems existing in this field, he said.

Zhang stressed that IPR is a problem confronting all the countries in the world, and calls for joint efforts by all. The Chinese government hoped countries concerned could learn more about the achievements and efforts China has made in IPR-related legislation and law enforcement, and cooperate with China to improve IPR protection.

"China also hoped the US government could understand the work the Chinese side has done, and give object comments on China's achievement in IPR protection," Zhang said.

Citing a survey released by the US Business Software Alliance on May 18, Zhang said that losses incurred by piracy (or the value of illegal software) in Europe and the United States are the highest, with the per capita loss reported there far surpassing that in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Therefore, the priorities in the global crackdown on piracy should first be the EU, then the United States and then the Asia- Pacific region. China does not deserve to be among the top priorities yet," said Zhang.

China has handled 24,189 trademark infringement cases and seized more than 167 million pieces of illegal audio-video products and pirated products since the country launched a massive crackdown on IPR violations last September, said the senior government official.

In addition, China has destroyed 24 illegal CD production lines and closed down 2,960 illegal printing workshops, said Zhang.

"A magnificent momentum and a sound situation have shown up" in China's IPR protection, said Zhang.

Chinese courts handled 1,280 cases involving intellectual property rights (IPR) violation, production and selling of shoddy products, and illegal business operations from Jan. to May this year, a senior Chinese judge said on Tuesday.

The figure jumped 23.9 percent over the same period of last year, Shen Deyong, vice president of the Supreme People's Court, told a press conference here, adding that 1,061 of the cases had been concluded, up 28.29 percent year-on-year.

Source: Xinhua