Xinhua reported that the Shenzhen Futian Court on 7 January 2009 sentenced 11 people who violated Chinese criminal and copyright laws to make pirated Microsoft software and distribute copies to Australia, Canada, Germany, the United States and other countries.
Brad Luo of China Business Law Blog observes that the article generalises Shenzhen’s success, which probably was influenced by the external pressure of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, to “China’s sincerity in implementing intellectual property law enforcement”. Besides, the case only involves Microsoft’s software. Read Brad’s article here.
Wang Jun , an IPR scholar at Fudan University said according to Xinhua: “Our eyes shone as we heard the verdicts. I and my fellow researchers sensed that China meant business this time.” Despite the shining eyes, they continued to observe sharply: “However, as the verdicts were meted out at a local district court and Shenzhen took the lead in doing many things, further observation is needed to determine whether the case will be a ‘milestone’ for the country’s intellectual property law enforcement,” according to Wang.
Read the Xinhua article via China Daily here.
