China is successfully clamping down on online piracy following a “special action” in 2018, the state National Copyright Administration (NCA) has said. According to a statement issued by the NCA on February 27, the 2018 Jianwang Operation removed 1.85 million links to infringing content online. Authorities also investigated 544 online copyright violations, including 74 criminal cases. The investigation focused heavily on online videos, resulting in the removal of 570,000 infringing works. The NCA welcomed the establishment of the China Financial Media Copyright Alliance, consisting of financial media publishers, and news of a cooperation agreement for protecting the copyright of books between organizations including Alibaba and publishers’ groups. The statement indicated that the NCA will look to pursue another “special action” in the coming year. The NCA said it was seeking the involvement of rights holders, copyright alliances and organizations, and authorities responsible for copyright enforcement. The 2018 results come after increased efforts to strengthen IP enforcement in the country. In December, Chinese authorities announced a range of new punishments for IP violations. In January, WIPR reported that political advisers and businesses had called for increased efforts to improve China’s IP protection regime. Advisers suggested new measures including the establishment of IP protection as a university discipline.

Source: WIPR