YIWU, Zhejiang Province: A unified nationwide reporting and complaint hotline for intellectual property rights (IPR) violations was established yesterday.

Now individuals or companies will be able to call 12312 to report any suspected IPR infringements.

At the same time, Yiwu has become the first county-level city in China to boast an IPR reporting and complaint centre.

The city, home to the world's largest small commodities wholesale market, has become the 50th place to establish such a centre, in response to the 2006-07 Action Plan on IPR Protection adopted by the State Council.

"The centres will help law enforcement authorities strike hard against IPR violations," Yao Guanghai, deputy secretary-general of the national IPR protection office, said yesterday.

According to work procedures, the centres will decide within five days whether to pursue a complaint.

If the complaint is accurate, it will be sent up to industry and commerce departments for administrative punishment, or to public security departments and public prosecutors for criminal punishment.

So far, the service centres have received over 6,000 reports and complaints.

Bai Gang, founding partner of Wan Hui Da Intellectual Property Agency, which represents France's Lacoste in its IPR lawsuits in China, said he believed that the newly-established report and complaint centres for IPR protection would help foreign companies safeguard their rights.

"In the past, industry and commerce authorities have accepted reports on IPR violations, but foreign enterprises often feel confused over which level of department they should turn to," he told China Daily yesterday.

"But now it is much clearer for foreign companies after the establishment of the 50 centres. They can report and complain to the centre or call the hotline. And then the cases will be submitted to relevant authorities," Bai said. 

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