The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) recently released typical cases on punishing copyright infringement crimes in accordance with the law, highlighting the role of procuratorial organs in promoting the country's social governance capabilities in the cultural sector.
The crimes involved in the cases range from infringements in traditional fields such as audiovisual works and books, to those in cultural and creative industries including assembled toys and role-playing murder mystery games. In the internet era, copyright infringement crimes exhibit such characteristics as elaborate concealment of various links, and are cross-regional and usually involve a large number of individuals, according to the SPP.
In handling complex copyright infringement and piracy cases, the procuratorial organs have applied the mechanisms used in handling major and difficult cases in other fields, such as providing suggestions to the public security organs on case characterization, evidence collection, and application of law. For cases with numerous individuals involved, a multi-level and classified approach have been adopted according to the criminal policy of tempering justice with mercy, based on their status, roles, degree of involvement, subjective maliciousness, and other factors.
"Intellectual property is the legal expression of cultural innovation, and copyright is not only the soul of the cultural industry but also a booster for its development," said an official with the SPP's intellectual property office. According to the official, the procuratorial organs nationwide reviewed and prosecuted more than 2,500 individuals for copyright infringement from January to November in 2023, as a result of strengthened efforts in cracking down on such crimes.
The SPP official said that the procuratorial organs will enhance protection of copyright in not only traditional fields such as movies, books, and music, but also in emerging fields related to new technologies such as computer software, digital productions, and cultural creativity. The procuratorial organs will collaborate with relevant departments to carry out special campaigns on cracking down on copyright infringement and piracy crimes, to boost the country's intellectual property protection and development of the cultural industry through high-quality performance of procuratorial functions.
