Copyright infringement campaign showing progress

A total of 245 smartphone applications and more than 618,000 web links have been directly removed by authorities for copyright infringement since a nationwide campaign was launched in June, Chinese officials said on Tuesday.

More than 80,000 short-video links were also cleaned up during the campaign — jointly developed by the National Copyright Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and the Cyberspace Administration of China — as the links involved pirated sports programs of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, according to the authorities.

Further, authorities urged internet operators providing video, livestreaming and e-commerce services to delete some 8.46 million web links after finding the contents infringed others' copyrights.

The National Copyright Administration said the major targets of the campaign were internet platforms involving short videos, livestreaming, sports programs, online education, online shopping, knowledge sharing and social activities.

"We have paid greater attention this time to fighting against those who copied and edited films or television series into several short videos, as well as livestreaming hosts who spread or performed others' music or photo works, without getting permission," the administration said.

"We also aim to regulate the broadcasting of sports programs and online education by punishing copyright infringers," it said.

The administration added that authorities will further implement the revised Copyright Law and the Administrative Punishment Law to harshly punish copyright infringers in cyberspace, push internet service providers to shoulder more responsibility and purify the online environment.