FINA fakes will not be tolerated, say authorities
- Source: Global Times
- [08:49 April 26 2011]
- Comments
By Li Mao
Local police promised to crack down on the sale of pirated souvenirs during the 14th FINA World Champions in July, making the promise Monday ahead of World Intellectual Property Day that falls Tuesday.
For the 16-day swimming competition, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau will carry out the strict measures used during the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai last year, when authorities caught 465 suspects involved in copyright infringement and confiscated more than 2 million fake Expo goods and unlicensed products, said Zhao Hongbo, a press officer from the bureau.
"Violators will face harsh punishment if caught," he told the Global Times Monday.
Zhao said that police have stepped up efforts to thwart copyright infringements this year, which has resulted in the apprehension of 1,340 people in 674 related cases in the past some four months, according to official figures released Monday by the bureau.
In a court ruling released Monday, the city's legal authorities, too, showed that they are getting tougher on the crime, sentencing both of the men to three years in jail each with 100,000-yuan ($15,370) fines after they were caught selling Abercrombie & Fitch fakes valued at 377,000 yuan ($57,945) in Xuhui district late last year.
Unlike 64 percent of copyright infringement cases tried in the city last year, the men did not receive a reprieve pending good behavior in their sentences, meaning they are unable to escape time behind bars.
Last year, 116 of the 181 criminals who were handed down jail sentences for copyright infringements escaped prison with such reprieves. Only seven criminals were given sentences of three to seven years for copyright infringements, according to figures released in a white book report from the Shanghai Higher People's Court Monday.