China destroyed on Friday more than 37 million counterfeit audio and video discs that were confiscated in the latter half of this year, said sources with the Ministry of Culture (MOC).

 

 

The illegal products were confiscated nationwide, with nearly 7.5 million from Guangdong, and more than one million from each of the ten provinces including Shandong, Hubei, Henan and Jiangxi, according to the ministry.

 

"China has launched an extensive campaign for the sixth consecutive year," a senior official with MOC told Xinhua.

 

To eliminate the counterfeit audio and video discs, China has set up a special department to supervise shops that sell audio and video discs, and raided underground factories and warehouses that produce and store the discs.

 

In the first nine months of the year, more than 740,000 shops engaged in the sale and production of audio and video discs and 1.45 million Internet bars were visited by government inspectors. More than 14,000 were ordered to rectify business practices, and 3,189 companies and enterprises were ordered to close.

 

Also yesterday, a revised judiciary rule from the Supreme People's Court came into effect, putting a ban on reprinting Internet material without obtaining preliminary approval from the copyright holder.

 

"The revision is in line with international norms in the field. It is also compatible with a new Internet information communication regulation issued by the State Council and implemented this July," said Jiang Zhipei, president of the IPR Court at the Supreme People's Court. He added that the new regulation would likely lead to more IPR legal disputes.

 

The new regulation also sets a fine of up to 100,000 yuan (US$12,500) and confiscation of computer equipment for those who breach it.

 

(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily December 9, 2006)