(Yicai Global) Feb. 14 -- In the nation’s first criminal case of copyright infringement involving the panda mascot of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese authorities recently sentenced the miscreant to a year in prison, according to an official.

The convicted individual was also fined CNY40,000 (USD6,296) for making and selling pirated Bing Dwen Dwen stuffed toys, Tang Zhaozhi, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, said at press conference today. He gave no further details about the case.

China is coming down hard on the infringement of intellectual property rights related to the ongoing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games as a buying frenzy over Bing Dwen Dwen-related merchandise has led to short supplies of the much-coveted items online and in stores. 

Tang noted that except in cases specifically allowed by law, such as personal study, research, appreciation for non-commercial purposes, and the unavoidable reproduction in news reports, other unauthorized use of copyrights may constitute infringement.

Individuals and groups that harm the public interest will be subject to administrative penalties, and they could even be investigated for criminal liability if their acts constitute a crime, he added.

Apart from investigating and dealing with traditional infringement and piracy, China has also fortified online copyright protection, Tang pointed out.

As of Feb. 12, 27 major video, social media and search engine platforms in China, including Tencent Video, Sina Weibo and Baidu, had deleted a total of 259,828 links related to the Winter Olympics that contravened copyrights and punished 3,363 accounts of various types, he said.

The country also cracked down on 52 domestic websites and apps as well as 39 unlawful overseas sites suspected of illegally disseminating Games content, Tang said.

The Enforcement Inspection Bureau under the State Administration for Market Regulation has increased inspection on infringements of Olympic logos since last year, Wang Songlin, deputy head of the bureau, said at the press conference.

Market regulators across the country have investigated and handled more than 240 cases of infringement of the exclusive rights to Olympic logos, such as the unauthorized use of the logos on products and website and in adverts, Wang stated.

A total of 63 Olympic logos as well as 14 patent applications and 315 trademark applications submitted by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are protected by the China National Intellectual Property Administration, according to its spokesman Zhang Zhicheng.

Editor: Peter Thomas