Beijing sets up anti-piracy center

BEIJING, April 14 (UPI) -- An intellectual property complaints center to be set up in Beijing will prove China's determination to combat counterfeiting, officials said.

Liu Zhengang, director of the Beijing Intellectual Property Office, said Thursday that apart from protecting symbols and products from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Beijing would crack down on pirated products in retail markets, exhibitions and trade fairs, the South China Morning Post reported Friday.

Zhang Guohong of Beijing's Administration for Industry and Commerce said Beijing authorities handled 1,791 cases of trademark counterfeiting totaling $13.1 million and 45 infringements of Olympic-related intellectual property rights last year.

Beijing would speed up the campaign to promote the use of licensed software among government departments and enterprises, which had been included in the criteria used for assessing cadres' performance at the suggestion of Mayor Wang Qishan, officials said.

Liu said Western countries' expectations were too high, as it took time to perfect a system to protect intellectual property rights and raise public awareness.

He said China had done much to protect Olympic symbols and products, because that was a priority for the government, while not losing control in other areas.