China to establish office to crack down on counterfeiting

A posed picture shows a real iPhone 3GS (L) alongside a fake model, in Beijing July 22, 2011. China will establish a national office to bolster a crackdown on fake products and pirated intellectual property, according to a report by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will establish a national office to bolster a crackdown on fake products and pirated intellectual property, according to a report by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

No other details about the new agency came out of a meeting of China's State Council, or Cabinet, but local governments were urged to redouble efforts to eliminate counterfeiting and pirating, the report said.

Chinese police should also establish a system to coordinate efforts across regional borders, Xinhua quoted a State Council statement as saying.

"China faces an arduous task in fighting IPR infringement as well as the production and sale of fake products, therefore, greater administrative and law enforcement efforts are needed," Xinhua quoted the statement as saying.

The State Council meeting on Wednesday called for greater supervision over manufacturers and heightened inspection of a wide range of products, including food, cosmetics, construction materials, machinery, medicine, electronics, and auto parts.

"The State Council stressed the organs concerned must make greater, coordinated efforts to safeguard the credibility of enterprises and individually run businesses," Xinhua said.

The Chinese government has launched numerous campaigns against counterfeit and pirated movies, music, apparel and other products, but the problem remains widespread and entrenched.

The government in July pointed to statistics that showed it had made considerable progress in its crackdown on pirated goods, but such products remain widely available, both on street stalls and in brick-and-mortar stores.

Also on Wednesday, the Copyright Protection Center of China said it had deleted more than 400,000 Internet links to illegally copied audio and video content since June 2010.

From October 2010, when a major crackdown began, and June this year, Chinese authorities seized more than 13 million illegal audio, video and print items, Xinhua quoted the General Administration of Press and Publication as saying.

(Reporting by Terril Yue Jones; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)