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 Tuesday.

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)