China clamps down on copyright piracy

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BEIJING, April 12 (UPI) -- Chinese authorities say last year they doubled the number of seizures involving theft of intellectual property rights.

The General Administration of Press and Publication, ready to launch a campaign to encourage consumers to buy authentic publications, said it seized 14 million pirated items in 2010, twice what was taken out of circulation in 2009, Xinhua reported Tuesday.

In one case, authorities arrested 27 suspects and closed eight printing factories and binderies in Sanhe City in northern Hebei province, as retribution for involvement in pirating a history book on the Communist Party, the state-run news agency said.

Publicity from the case has fostered a "sound environment" for the publication of the book, said Zhou Huilin, a senior official with the General Administration of Press and Publication.

The agency, along with several other government groups, started the "Green Bookmark" campaign this week that is encouraging consumers to buy authentic, but discounted copies of books.

April 26 in China is "World Intellectual Property Day," Xinhua reported.