China has witness a growth in the number of intellectual property right (IPR)-related cases uncovered by law-enforcement departments and transferred from administrative departments to the police since it launched a nationwide IPR protection campaign last September, an official said in Beijing Tuesday.

"Up to now, administrations for industry and commerce at all levels have investigated and handled 24,189 trademark infringement cases and imposed fines of 157 million yuan (19 million US dollars)," Vice Minister of Commerce Zhang Zhigang said at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office.

Press and publishing authorities, cultural departments, copyright administrations and the police have confiscated 167 million sets of illegal audio-video products and pirated products,destroyed 24 illegal CD production lines and closed down 2,960 illegal printing workshops, said Zhang, also office director of the state IPR protection working group.

The Ministry of Culture destroyed 63.35 million pirated compact discs, and the patent authorities uncovered 1,115 patent imitation cases and 153 patent counterfeit cases, he said.

Customs offices have uncovered 949 cases related to the import and export of goods related to IPR infringement, involving a total value of 73.04 million yuan.

At the end of 2004, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate promulgated an interpretation on several legal issues concerning applicable laws to IPR infringement cases,which lowered the threshold of criminal penalty on IPR perpetration, he said.

During the operation "Mountain Eagle" of the Ministry of Public Security, the police nationwide cracked more than 1,000 cases involving IPR infringement valued at over 860 million yuan, and detained more than 2,600 suspects.

Most of these cases involved the infringement of famous international and domestic brands of assembled cars, automobile spare parts, consumer electronics, foodstuff, medicine, agricultural appliances, tobacco, alcohol, apparel and cosmetics, he said.

Since the special campaign was launched, China's procuratorate offices have advised the transfer of 1,257 suspected criminal cases involving the production and distribution of fake and shoddy products and IPR infringement, from administrative enforcement bodies to public security authorities, he said.

From January to May 2005, the procuratorate departments warranted the arrest of 882 persons involved in the production and selling of fake and shoddy products, up 51.5 percent year on year.

"Altogether 844 of them were prosecuted, up 45 percent year on year," Zhang said.

The procuratorate departments also warranted the arrest of 340 suspects involved in IPR infringement, 58.9 percent more than a year earlier, with 258 of them prosecuted, up 20.6 percent, he said.

In the five months, Chinese courts handled 1,280 cases involving IPR infringement, the production and distribution of fake and shoddy products and illegal business operations, up 23.19 percent year on year, he said.

Source: Xinhua