BEIJING (AP) — China has extended criminal penalties for music and movie piracy to people caught with smaller amounts of DVDs or CDs, a state news agency said Friday, after foreign complaints that enforcement was too lenient.
The decision by the Supreme People's Court comes amid pressure by foreign governments and the film and music industries to stamp out China's rampant product piracy industry.
The court, in an order Thursday, cut in half the number of counterfeit DVDs, CDs or other audiovisual products that trigger criminal penalties of up to three years in prison, the Xinhua News Agency said. It said the court also raised fines for smaller offenders.
Anyone caught with 500 pirated discs will face criminal prosecution instead of fines, down from the previous 1,000 discs, Xinhua said. It said the number of discs that triggers more severe penalties of up to seven years in prison was cut in half to 2,500.
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Source: www.ap.org
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