From today, infringement of intellectual property
rights (IPR) will be treated as a major criminal offense rather
than a minor one.
The thresholds for IPR offense punishments were
lowered in a judicial interpretation jointly announced by the
Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate in
Beijing yesterday.
Under the new interpretation, offenders who
knowingly sell fake trademarked goods will receive a minimum
sentence of three years and a maximum of seven years, if the sales
volume value exceeds 250,000 yuan (US$30,000).
The 17-article interpretation will make it easier
to prosecute IPR violations and give out tougher sentences to
offenders, said Cao Jianming, vice-president of the Supreme Court,
at a news conference held by the State Council's Information
Office.
The first seven articles list the criteria for
conviction and sentencing on each of the major IPR violations
stipulated in criminal law. They are: counterfeiting registered
trademarks, selling counterfeit trademarks, illegally producing or
selling registered trademarks, violating copyrights, forging
patents, breaching business secrets and selling pirated
products.
These articles aim to address complaints that the
previous legislation was too vague, said Cao.
When a business brings in a minimum of 50,000 yuan
(US$6,024) in revenue or 30,000 yuan (US$3,600) in illegal gains
from selling counterfeit goods or infringing copyrights, it will be
eligible for criminal penalties.
Compared with the previous minimums of 100,000 yuan
(US$12,000) to 200,000 yuan (US$24,000), the stricter guidelines
are expected to deal a heavier blow to piracy, said Zhang Geng,
deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's
Procuratorate.
The offence of selling counterfeits with a volume
of less than 50,000 yuan (US$6,024) will be punished through
administrative means, said Cao, and the interpretation will also
apply to online piracy.
"It is necessary for China to protect IPR in order
to fulfill its international commitments and create a favorable
climate for foreign investment," said the vice-president.
Since 2000, courts nationwide have completed
prosecutions in 1,710 IPR cases and meted out penalties to 1,948
offenders. Prosecutors have approved 2,462 arrests in 1,539
criminal cases involving IPR infringement, according to Zhang.
(China Daily December 22, 2004)