One million pirated software discs and pirated DVDs and VCDs were destroyed by the police on Friday in Yizhuang Economic Development Area of Beijing.

Copyright administrations and the relative departments in Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Guangdong launched a three-month joint campaign in September against pirated software.

The campaign, coordinated by the National Copyright Administration, was aimed at supporting the development of the software industry.

According to the latest incomplete statistics, 67,908 personnel of the local copyrights administrations took part in the campaign and suppressed some 3.6 million discs in the three months.

"The special campaign has ended successfully, but similar campaigns will be taken against software piracy in the future,'' said an officer of the National Copyright Administration who declined to be named.

Being at the core of information industry, the software industry is one of basic industries in the country. It is also playing an important role in social and economic development.

However, piracy has become a major obstacle holding back the development of China's software industry in recent years.

Striking out at piracy and protecting copyright has been an emphasis of the government's work in the past decade.

Incomplete statistics show that during 1995 and 2002, the country's copyright administrations smashed 197 million pieces of pirated products.

Courts at all levels have accepted 18,600 infringement cases during that period, 18,000 of which have been completed.

Design software developer Autodesk said earlier this month that its sales on the mainland are expected to rise by 30 percent in the next three years as intellectual property right (IPR) protection improves and demand from architects and engineers rises.

(China Daily December 20, 2003)