Criminal enforcement. Increasing criminal prosecutions and case transfers should remain a priority for Jiangsu authorities.
- Distinctions in methodologies for valuation of infringing goods continue to impede criminal prosecutions for trademark and copyright infringement in Jiangsu. The courts 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 audiovisual (AV) products.
- 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 has established landlord liability rules, but IP authorities report difficulty pursing cases because of the need to establish proof that the landlord is aware of IP-infringing business.
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.
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. Shanghai is also increasingly becoming the venue of choice for foreign companies filing IP-related cases because of the expertise and competency of Shanghai judicial officials. 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.
- Industry reported that most vendors from Xiangyang relocated to other markets, including nearby Yatai, Fengxiang, Longhua, and Qipu Road markets.
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