In
order to clean up the audio and video product market and
better protect intellectual property rights (IPR), the
State Council launched a large-scale operation in September
2004 to crack down on IPR infringements nationwide.
Dozens
of governmental departments are involved in the crackdown,
including the Ministry of Commerce, local publication
administrations, police forces and customs agencies, in
major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Shenyang.
In
an operation about a month ago, Shenyang's Sanhao Street
was one of the main targets in northeast China's Liaoning
Province, where piracy is widespread.
Pirated
audio and video products are sold mainly in two areas
in Shenyang. One is in the south of the city on Sanhao
Street and the other is in the Science and Technology
Park of Liaoning University situated in north Shenyang,
Wang Hongyu, head of Shenyang Anti-piracy Enforcement
Team, said.
"These
two hubs provided over 90 percent of all pirated compact
disks (CD) to buyers. But now you can hardly find any
pirated products there," Wang said.
The
two markets involved in selling pirated audio and video
products were closed down and 79 businesses had their
licenses revoked.
Over
1.1 million audio-visual discs were confiscated and destroyed.
"In
order to continue our watch on piracy, we have formed
a law enforcement team to monitor these markets around
the clock," Wang said.
Dealers
of non-pirated audio and video product dealers are benefiting
directly from the campaign.
"My
sales have tripled in the past month. And I plan to order
a larger range of products after the Spring Festival,"
said Chen Tong, a software dealer on Sanhao Street.
"If
piracy can be controlled and more customers purchase our
copyrighted products, we can provide more of these products
for cheaper prices in the future," said Feng Hongtao,
manager of Dongke Audio and Video Chain Store.
Other
dealers are not as optimistic.
"There
is still a big gap between prices of legal and pirated
products. Customers will continue to buy pirated products
as long as there is a big price differential," a
pirated products dealer, surnamed Tang, said. She declined
to give her full name.
Many
pirated products are sold for under 10 yuan (US$1.25)
in Sanhao while the legal ones cost over 100 yuan (US$12).
Part
of the solution therefore requires that China make available
more copyrighted products to consumers.
In
the meantime, it will continue with its hard-line approach
to IPR violations.
Those
found guilty of pirating more than 250,000 yuan's (US$30,000)
worth of copyrighted products can be jailed for up to
seven years.
|