IPR Infringements and Counterfeiting Activities Targetted in Nationwide Initiative

A national crackdown on copyright infringements and the production/distribution of counterfeit items has been initiated by the State Council. This will run in tandem with moves to strengthen IPR protection. The initiative is to prioritise three particular actions:

• Increased efforts are to be made to reduce online copyright infringement and counterfeit activities
• In rural areas, enhanced regulatory measures are to be enforced to combat all instances of counterfeiting and copyright infringement, particularly those related to sources of production, distribution and end-user markets
• Protecting the integrity of the Made in China brand is to remain paramount with regard to all sales in overseas markets. To this end, there will be a particular emphasis on eliminating all criminal activity related to cross-border production/sale of counterfeit items, especially when related to imports/exports or cross-border e-commerce with any of the markets sited along the proposed route of the Belt and Road Initiative

In terms of strengthening IPR protection, five key areas are to be prioritised:

• Actively pursuing acts of patent infringement
• Streamlining the administration of trademark-related law enforcement
• Actively enforcing copyright protection
• The active promotion of the use of legitimate and licensed software
• Strengthening IPR protection with regard to new plant species

As determined by the State Council, these actions are to be jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Public Security, General Administration of Customs, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the State Intellectual Property Office.

For further details (in Chinese), please refer to the following website:

Circular of the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the 2017 Major Tasks for the Nationwide Crackdown on IPR Infringements and the Production and Sale of Counterfeit and Shoddy Commodities (Guo Ban Fa No. 46 [2017])