State Council of China Issues Opinions on Strengthening Governance of Infringement and Counterfeiting on the Internet
The State Council of China recently issued the Opinions on Strengthening the Governance of Infringement and Counterfeiting on the Internet, which aims at curbing infringement and counterfeiting on the Internet in about three years' time through government supervision and regulation with involvement of the industries and general public. To this end, the Opinions set forth four aspects of work:
i) Supervise with focuses
In respect of government supervision of illegal online sales of substandard goods, focus on certain categories including agricultural materials, food and drugs, cosmetics, medical instruments, electrical appliances and electronic products, auto parts, and home decoration materials;
ii) Request enterprises to assume responsibilities
Request e-commerce platform providers to step up qualification check of internet operators and to cooperate with enforcement authorities on tracing the operators who sell infringing and counterfeiting products on e-commerce platforms; and urge providers of warehousing, courier delivery, and postal services to adopt real name registration system;
iii) Reinforce cooperations in enforcement
In respect of IP enforcement, strengthen the case transfer mechanism between administrative agencies and criminal justice, improve departmental information sharing system, encourage regional cooperation on reporting of clues, and better cross-border exchanges and cooperation; and
iv) Build sustainable mechanism
Push forward legislation on e-commerce to specify rules related to internet commercial transactions, manners of disputes resolution, liabilities of the parties, and legal force of electronic vouchers and certification; reveal the names of blacklisted enterprises; and involve general public and enhance consumers' awareness in the fight against infringement and counterfeiting.
