Remarkable progresses was made in intellectual property rights (IPR) protection last year, according to the commerce ministry.

In 2006, in cooperation with local governments, the ministry built 50 IPR reporting and service centers across the country, in order to strengthen protection of intellectual property.

At the centers consumers and companies can lodge complaints about counterfeit goods.

The centers are located not only in provincial capitals but also in larger cities which are home to foreign-invested companies and more intellectual property, such as Wenzhou, Yiwu and Shantou.

A unified reporting telephone hotline has also been created at 12312.

The centers have shown their use by helping the public and patent owners join together in IPR protection.

By the end of November last year, the 50 centers received 1,014 reports of infringement of intellectual property rights and transferred 657 cases to law enforcement agencies, among which, 286 cases have been settled, according to the ministry.

(China Daily 01/31/2007 page2)