Since its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) nearly two years ago, China has stepped up law enforcement in a bid to more effectively protect intellectual property rights (IPR), China's top IPR watchdog said in Beijing Friday.

In an interview with Xinhua, Wang Jingchuan, commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), said that in 2002, Chinese courts at various levels accepted and heard more than 6,200 civil cases on IPR, with a yearly increase of 17.78 percent, of which 1,824 concerned copyrights, 2,080 concerned patents and 707 dealt with trademarks.

In 409 criminal cases on IPR infringement, 253 violators were brought to justice according to the nation's criminal law, Wang said. Another 717 cases were related to manufacturing and selling shoddy goods, most of which were violations of IPR.

Meanwhile, nationwide IPR administrative organs, including patent offices, industrial and commercial administrative bureaus and copyright watchdogs, accepted 1,442 patent disputes, investigated 39,105 trademark violations with total fines of 214 million yuan (US$25.78 million), and confiscated 67.9 million pirated publication products.

"The legal authorities and administrative bodies worked in close cooperation with each other and fought against IPR infringement, which indicates China's resolve to fulfill its pledges to other WTO members," Wang said.

Since 1985, when China adopted its first patent law, the country has basically constructed an effective legal system for IPR protection.

On the basis of the established IPR laws and regulations, the SIPO has been drafting a regulation concerning inventions made and an amended draft regulation on patent agents has been completed.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2003)