Back in April, the United States lodged two complaints with the World Trade Organization against China, one of the charges being that the Chinese leadership had failed to contain the spread of rampant piracy and infringements on copyright and intellectual property rights (IPR). This is one of a series of American criticisms against China in this regard over recent years. While this issue has often been cited as a direct cause for bilateral trade frictions and proof of U.S. companies' loss of commercial interests in China, it is also seen by some observers as an American way of mounting greater pressures on China to further open its local market for U.S. IPR products.

Whatever the U.S. intentions, copyright violations and IPR infringements do remain a serious problem in China. At a recent meeting in Beijing, Liu Benjie, head of the National Copyright Administration (NCA), the country's IPR watchdog, disclosed that China produced some 120 million pirated audio and visual products and 500 million copies of pirated books each year, creating market chaos, as well as huge economic losses for copyright owners. Moreover, these illegal practices have damaged the country's image as being creditworthy, responsible and law-abiding, and run counter to the aim of building China into an innovative, creative nation.

The Chinese Government has always attached great importance to copyright protection. Along with its entry into such international treaties as the Berne Convention and Universal Copyright Convention, the two leading global copyright framework agreements, in 1992, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty only last June, various measures have been adopted to intensify the crackdown on fake products. These include the confiscation of pirated goods and closure of illegal production sites, heavy fines and disciplinary penalties for defaulters, compulsory use of legitimate software in government offices, mass education and publicity programs, and cooperation with both multilateral organizations and other countries.

Thanks to these efforts, remarkable achievements have been made over recent years. According to a survey sponsored by the NCA, the use of pirated software in China had dropped from 26 percent in 2005, to 24 percent last year, with the rate of pirated goods for corporate and individual users also falling to 39 percent and 78 percent respectively, down from 48 percent and 80 percent the previous year. In another development, the NCA effectively closed 98 percent of the almost 11, 000 cases related to copyright and IPR infringements in 2006, with 73 million pirated products confiscated, including books, audios and visuals, and electronic publications.

Despite the progress, piracy persists. This is largely due to lack of awareness of IPR protection among local consumers, as the vast majority of them prefer pirated goods available for free or at much less than what they pay for licensed products. This makes any anti-piracy campaign in China a difficult task and may also explain why pirated products still find their way into the local market.

To fight against piracy and IPR infringements, awareness needs to be enhanced among Chinese citizens, and the support of the whole nation is needed. That will be a more effective way to ensure greater success in copyright and IPR protection. After all, if there is no demand for pirated goods, there will be no pirate industry.