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SCMP Reporter

90pc of the pirated video products come from overseas, authorities claim

The extensive trade in counterfeit music and video CDs on the mainland is largely an imported problem, says a leading member of the Beijing Intellectual Property Taskforce.

Deputy director Wang Yefei said yesterday 90 per cent of  the fake audio and video products sold on the mainland had been imported.

'China is the victim of intellectual property rights infringement,' he said.

Lu Pushun, secretary-general of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property's mainland  branch, said: 'Most of the fake DVDs on the Chinese market come from Hong Kong and Taiwan.'

Mr Lu said the only way to stop the flow of fake goods was to make the punishment severe enough to deter people from pursuing the possible benefits of the crime.

'The profits earned by piracy are huge and the risks involved are relatively minor. We need to increase the risk by strengthening anti-piracy administration,' he said.

Despite continuing crackdowns, piracy is still rife in Beijing and most other mainland cities. The most common punishment for DVD vendors is confiscation of their stock.

Mr Wang said the taskforce would conduct two campaigns in Beijing this year.

Operation Spring Thunder, which began last Thursday and will run until late next month,  will target street hawkers selling pirated goods.

Operation Maple Leaf in the autumn will target the production and sale of pirated software.

Last year, the Beijing Intellectual Property Bureau solved 29 cases of patent infringement. In 16 of the cases, a total of 423,000 yuan in fines was collected.

Courts in the capital accepted 1,111 cases involving intellectual property disputes last year, of which 53 per cent concerned copyright and 23 per cent patents.

Unfair competition suits made up 9 per cent of the total, while technological contract disputes and trademark wrangles made up 9 and 6 per cent of the total, respectively.

Beijing customs officers handled nine cases of copyright and trademark violations last year involving goods worth US$80,000.



Most fake DVDs 'imported into mainland'