China shuts 76 Web sites in crackdown on piracy
View at Reuters.co.uk
China, often criticised by the West for doing little to tackle widespread music and film piracy from the Internet, on Wednesday touted a four-month campaign it said resulted in 76 Web sites being closed.
Officials said that since September, 172 cases had been investigated -- including 14 after requests from overseas companies -- and 76 had been shut down.
'Internet copyright infringement activities have been increasingly rampant, ' Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, told a news conference.
'It has severely disrupted the music, film and software markets,' he said.
Chinese people habitually download pirated music and movies due to the high price of authorised copies and government restrictions on cultural imports, while many Western movies are not even officially available.
Pirated music, movies and software are also sold openly on Chinese streets, a major irritant in trade relations with the United States.
China, often criticised by the West for doing little to tackle widespread music and film piracy from the Internet, on Wednesday touted a four-month campaign it said resulted in 76 Web sites being closed.Officials said that since September, 172 cases had been investigated -- including 14 after requests from overseas companies -- and 76 had been shut down.
'Internet copyright infringement activities have been increasingly rampant, ' Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, told a news conference.
'It has severely disrupted the music, film and software markets,' he said.
Chinese people habitually download pirated music and movies due to the high price of authorised copies and government restrictions on cultural imports, while many Western movies are not even officially available.
Pirated music, movies and software are also sold openly on Chinese streets, a major irritant in trade relations with the United States.
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