China's Supreme People's Procuratorate has recently issued "Notice on Actively Involving in 'the Special Campaign on Cracking down on IPR infringement and Manufacture and Sales of Counterfeiting and Shoddy Commodities '", urging procuratorates at all levels to seriously implement the State Council's deployment on the special campaign, learn Premier Wen Jiabao's important speech, fulfill their responsibility as legal supervision authorities and to firmly combat IPR infringement and manufacture and sales of counterfeiting and shoddy commodities.

The Notice requires that procuratorates at all levels shall reinforce the strength to combat IPR infringement and manufacture & sales of counterfeiting and shoddy commodities, legitimately arrest and prosecute criminals involved in serious IPR infringement cases. Relevant authorities shall supervise and rectify erroneous practice in IPR-related law enforcement. By combining the special campaign with a special supervision movement jointly launched by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Supervision and Ministry of Commerce on transfer of suspected crimes from administrative bodies to judicial authorities, procuratorates at all levels shall supervise relevant departments to timely transfer IPR-related crimes that arouse strong public complaints to judiciary, at the same time keeping a close watch at the officials' malpractice therein.

According to the Notice, procuratorates at all levels should give suggestions to local party committees and governments to enhance the interconnection between administrative enforcement and judicial regime based on practical research in the special campaign and if possible establish an effective online mechanism to share information between the administrative and judicial systems. Procuratorates should take the opportunity and try to reach a consensus with authorities in charge of public security, supervision and administrative enforcement on issues including joint conferences, information delivery, filing and recording, record examination and transfer, contributing to a permanent mechanism for IPR protection.

The Notice highlights that procuratorates at all levels shall follow the requirements and timetable provided in the plan issued by the State Council on the implementation of the special campaign, help to ease social contradictions and enhance social management innovation and impartial enforcement. Relevant authorities shall also integrate resources on legal supervision and reinforce the cooperation and coordination among investigation, prosecution and anticorruption bodies to ensure all the work involved progresses smoothly.
                                                                                                   Source:IPR in China