Marbridge Daily reports:

In Kunshan, Jiangsu province, sporting goods company Mei’erguang was recently fined RMB 800,000 for illegal use of pirated copies of six programs, including AutoCAD, with a market value totaling RMB 2.7 mln. To date, this is the highest fine to be levied against any Chinese company for use of pirated software.

China’s Intellectual Property Protection site has more:

…The court ruled that Viscount Industries should compensate a total of RMB 69,400 to Autodesk Inc. for its loss and reasonable expense on the case, and pay the costs of the action.

In addition, the Jiangsu Copyright Administration imposed a fine of RMB 800,000 upon Viscount Industries, ordered it to immediately remove the infringing software of Pro-engineer2001, MasterCAM 9.1, AutoCAD2004 and AutoCAD2005 from the computers.

In April 2006, complaint to the Jiangsu Copyright Administration indicated that several computers owned by Viscount Industries were installed with pirated software. The Jiangsu Copyright Administration, in cooperation with the local police and the Administration for Industry and Commerce, inspected the company. They found that four computers in Viscount Industries were installed with unauthorized software of Pro-engineer2001, MasterCAM 9.1, AutoCAD2004 and AutoCAD2005, involving a value of RMB 2.7 million.

It’s interesting that the hefty fine was passed down by the local copyright administration. Based on a tip, no less. The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) is responsible for writing, implementing, investigating, and enforcing copyrights in China (apparently adjudication is still the court’s preserve). It has provincial-level offices throughout China.

In September of 2007 a new regulation was promulgated that created incentives for reporting copyright theft. The maximum reward is RMB100,000.

If you think you’re a victim of piracy, don’t get mad. Get a bounty hunter.

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