Chinese Crackdown on Piracy Continues

A 100-day crackdown on piracy by the Chinese government has netted over 13 million units of pirated software.

Facing pressure from the world community, the Chinese government now claims to have shut down 8,907 shops, 942 websites and 481 publishers during a 100 day campaign against piracy. “We are giving shopkeepers a stern lesson to make it clear that selling pirated products will lead to strict penalties,” said Liu Binjie, vice director of the State Press and Publication Administration.

In the first month alone, the SPPA claimed over 60 percent of registered audio/video shops handed over their stock of pirated material, for fear of being shut down once the initial 30 day grace period was over. “We will not punish shops that have voluntarily handed in pirated products in the first month,” said Liu, “but will strike hard on those who ignore our warning and continue to sell such products.”

In a recent interview with The Escapist, Joss Ellis of Russian-based Nival Interactive was hopeful about the growing focus on reducing piracy in countries like Russia and China. “What’s happening is they’ve got local people who have a livelihood that depends on it, so there becomes more pressure to sort this stuff out rather that just ripping off Westerners,” said Ellis. “From what I understand China is very similar (to Russia) as well, they’re slowly becoming much more liberal and opening up the market. Folks want to be courageous. This is a very courageous environment.”