Police have arrested more than 3,000 people in the latest crackdown on product piracy and seized fake or counterfeit medicines, liquor, mobile phones and other goods, officials said yesterday.

According to the Ministry of the Public Security, 3,001 people involved in intellectual property rights violation cases have been arrested since last November for producing and selling counterfeit goods or spreading pirated videos and software online.

In November, police launched a special campaign targeting fake goods ranging from food, medicines and cosmetics, to electronics, home appliances and DVDs.

Officers have busted 2,546 production dens of counterfeit goods and 1,132 criminal rings connected with the sale of fake goods, worth 4.5 billion yuan (US$680 million), the ministry said in a report.

In particular, police targeted websites offering counterfeit and pirated goods, and have shut down 292, said the report.

Goods worth 300 million yuan seized in the latest crackdown include 26,000 mobile phones, some with fake Nokia and Apple labels, copies of Louis Vuitton bags and Rolex watches, automotive components, DVDs and clothing, it said.

The inter-ministerial crackdown will last until the end of this month, but Li Chenggang, head of the Department of Treaty and Law under the Ministry of Commerce, said it may be extended.

He told a press conference on the sidelines of the national parliamentary session in Beijing that the government's eventual goal is to establish a long-term protection mechanism instead of resorting to frequent crackdowns.

Li said the protection of intellectual property rights is essential for China to build an innovation-oriented country and transform its image from "Made in China" to one of "Created in China."

Last year, China investigated 56,000 trademark rights infringement cases in 2010, an increase of 9.78 percent year on year.