- should accept criminal cases based on thresholds met by combined sales volume and seized inventory.
- Despite positive steps, criminal fines and prison sentences in Jiangsu remain relatively light, as in many other Chinese localities.
Retail and wholesale markets. Local authorities in Jiangsu continue to expand efforts to prevent the sale of infringing goods in retail and wholesale markets:
- Local Nanjing officials reported that, after recognizing Nanjing was becoming a transit center for retailers and wholesalers of counterfeit optical discs, they formed an interagency anti-piracy task force to better monitor areas known for selling pirated AV products. The local Copyright Bureau reported that it is also cooperating with Nanjing Public Security Bureau to ensure landlords are held liable for tenants' activities.
- Jiangsu promulgated Provincial Rules on AV Market Management, which require that AV business operators carry proof of relevant licenses of the publishers and distributors of the AV product and proof of the legality of the AV product.
- Jiangsu Province also launched a province-wide campaign in 2006 to take action against fake products in retail markets and increase cooperation with landlords.
Internet. Piracy on the Internet remains a problem for Jiangsu province, along with many other localities around China. Officials in Jiangsu and elsewhere noted the difficulty for enforcement officials to collect evidence and establish a profit motive, in accordance with Chinese law.
- A recording industry survey found Jiangsu as the top Chinese location of ISPs allegedly hosting infringing products in March 2007.
- A number of pioneering criminal copyright cases involving Internet piracy have been brought in the northern Jiangsu city of Yancheng.
- Jiangsu officials reported that they continue to engage in foreign industry and WIPO training on Internet issues.
Universities. In both Suzhou and Nanjing, the Copyright Bureaus reported continued coordination with local universities following Ministry of Education circulars to eradicate textbook piracy on campuses. Suzhou and Nanjing officials have also coordinated with universities to train students on IPR awareness.
Shanghai City has been praised by industry observers as a relatively bright spot in China's IPR protection environment. Shanghai IPR officials are generally well-trained and responsive to industry requests for IPR actions, welcome cooperation with foreign industry and governments, and have instituted creative programs to improve coordination among relevant IPR agencies. However, the continued widespread availability of counterfeit and pirated products through retail venues in Shanghai demonstrates the limited effectiveness of administrative remedies and need for Shanghai to pursue more deterrent criminal enforcement.
Hot spots. According to industry reports:
- Despite the welcome July 1, 2006 closing of the notorious Xiangyang Market, infringing products in retail markets and through mobile vendors remain widely available in Shanghai.
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