首页  | 新闻播报

Man jailed for pirating Mo's works

中国日报网 2013-04-16 11:20

分享到微信

Get Flash Player

Download

A man has been sentenced to six months in jail and fined 2,000 yuan ($320) after being convicted of illegally publishing copies of the works of Mo Yan winner of last year's Nobel Prize in literature.

The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications said on Monday that Wan Yongshen published 3,000 illegal copies of Mo's books.

Haidian District People's Court in Beijing delivered its verdict on Wan on April 9.

The office said it had been involved in fighting 36 important copyright cases, including Wan's case, in 2012, in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Security, National Copyright Administration, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Meanwhile, the office disclosed 10 most common forms of copyright infringement cases that it fought in 2012. Among them, the most serious punishment handed out was an 11-year prison sentence in Tianjin, while the highest fine was 3.2 million yuan, for a copyright case in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.

The office said that in 2012, 5,331 copyright infringement cases had been solved nationwide and more than 40 million pirated items confiscated or destroyed.

Helped with larger numbers involved in fighting piracy between January and March, the number of cases has gradually dropped, it said. The key target for 2013 will be piracy by online bookstores, e-commerce platforms and audition websites.

Jiang Ying, a judge specializing in intellectual property rights cases with Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court, said the disclosure of the10 most typical cases will help to raise public awareness of the ongoing crackdown on piracy.

"The piracy of products such as books and videos still has a big market in our country, since these products are being sold at lower prices," she said.

"If demand is still there from buyers, violations will continue."

She added that fines are not very harsh, meaning that temptation remains for people to get involved in the piracy industry.

"More people are still becoming interested in making and selling pirated products," she added.

Liu Yinliang, an associate law professor in intellectual property rights at Peking University, echoed Jiang's observations on the piracy market, adding that writers themselves should also actively fight against piracy, to protect their copyrights.

"Relying on crackdowns by the authorities or the police is still far from enough. We need a better legal environment," he said, adding campaigns cannot solve the root of the problem.

Under current Chinese Criminal Law, those who infringe upon other people's intellectual property rights can be sentenced up to a maximum of seven years, "but if products being sold involve porn, the punishment will be more severe", he said.

"The penalties can be tough, but this problem is still serious."

Questions:

1. How many illegal copies of Mo Yan’s books had Wan Yongshen published?

2. Recently, what has been the highest fine handed out for violating copyright infringement laws?

3. What is the maximum prison sentence a person can receive for infringing upon other peoples’ intellectual property rights?

Answers:

1. 3,000.

2. 3.2 million yuan.

3. 7 years.

(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)

About the broadcaster:

Lance Crayon is a videographer and editor with China Daily. Since living in Beijing he has worked for China Radio International (CRI) and Global Times. Before moving to China he worked in the film industry in Los Angeles as a talent agent and producer. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
人气排行
中国日报网 英语点津微信
中国日报网 双语小程序