operations in Xiamen were reportedly instructed to take their cases to administrative authorities instead.
Administrative enforcement. Fujian was the only province studied that outpaced China as a whole in 2005 in the number of both trademark and copyright administrative cases handled relative to the size of its economy. For example, Fujian handled over 30% more administrative trademark cases than Guangdong, in spite of having an economy roughly one-third the size of Guangdong. Unfortunately, rights holders in both trademark and copyright industries have noted that in Fujian, like other parts of China, low administrative penalties often have little or no deterrent effect.
Export. Xiamen is one of China's top five ports of lading for infringing goods seized at U.S. borders. Xiamen Customs has jurisdiction over approximately half of Fujian province, including the port cities of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, and has a special division that handles IPR enforcement. Xiamen Customs has worked closely with foreign rights holders, and has won praise for its work.
Internet. In November 2006, the Xiamen Huli District Court decided what was reportedly the first criminal case involving infringement of the right of communication over information networks. The case involved a pirate music website and resulted in two men being sentenced to one year in prison plus fines.
Universities. Fujian authorities said that they planned to conduct special campaigns against textbook infringement to coincide with the beginnings of school terms.
Guangdong Province is the center of large-scale counterfeit and pirate manufacturing in China for a variety of goods, ranging from low-cost consumer goods, such as household items, clothing and optical media, to high-technology products, such as computer equipment, video game consoles (and game discs/cartridges), and other electronics. A leading industry group calls Guangdong "the biggest problem spot for counterfeiting in China." Rights holders have also complained of patent infringement by Guangdong-based companies.
Provincial officials in Guangdong acknowledged the need to improve deterrence against IPR violations, and expressed a welcome openness to closer engagement with U.S. and other foreign rights holders. Authorities at the provincial and local levels stated that they had launched specific initiatives to strengthen Guangdong's courts, reduce backlogs of IP cases, facilitate rights holders' complaints, and promote procurement of legitimate software by governments and enterprises. At a local level, Shenzhen officials noted that they budget specifically for legitimate software procurement, and cooperate closely with optical disc industry associations.
Hot spots. Provincial officials stated that specific cities targeted for enforcement during the past five years included Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shantou, Jieyang, and Chaozhou. The government has set up IPR complaint centers in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhanjiang, and Shantou. According to industry reports:
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