China to punish officials who fail to enforce copyright protection
"Intellectual property protection should be placed high on the agenda of regional governments and integrated into master plans for economic and social development," an order from the State Council, or cabinet, read.
Under the action plan for 2006-7, officials will be punished for failing to enforce copyright protection and covering up cases of infringement, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
"If serious offences are uncovered ... severe punishment will be meted out to those who are involved or cover up infringements," the China Daily newspaper said.
All illegal production lines of pirated discs and the transport and sale of fake products must be smashed, according to the plan.
Streets should be cleared of vendors of pirated products and administrators of marketplaces will be held accountable for the sale of fake goods, it said.
A national system will also be established in 50 cities to receive and handle complaints.
Under mounting pressure from the international community, especially the United States, China has responded to show it is serious about the problem, including by requiring all domestic computers to be pre-installed with legitimate software.
According to the Information Times newspaper, police on Wednesday shut down a clothing factory in Zhongshan city in the southern province of Guangdong that had been illegally making counterfeit World Cup sweaters.
Local trade authorities issued an urgent notice to 800 clothing factories, warning them against the manufacturing of fake brand products. Offenders will be fined up to 100,000 yuan (12,500 dollars), the report said.
During his U.S. visit last week, Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged to step up protection of intellectual property rights in his country.
"China is firm in protecting IPR and fighting piracy," Hu told a luncheon attended by around 600 government and business leaders.