US working with China on intellectual property rights

Attorney General Eric Holder is visiting Beijing this week to discuss how China -- a hotbed for counterfeit goods and piracy -- can better coordinate its efforts with the U.S. to stop intellectual property rights violations.

On Oct 20, AG Holder held talks on the issue with senior Chinese officials in the country's capital, according to China's state-controlled media. Earlier in the week, the Attorney General spoke in Hong Kong, stressing the need for countries to prevent violations of intellectual property rights. Such abuses have caused businesses to lose billions at the expense of piracy, while consumers have been put at risk by unknowingly using shoddy counterfeit goods, AG Holder said. "For too long, these illegal activities have been perceived as 'business as usual.' But not any more," AG Holder said. Tech product manufacturers are a major victim of these intellectual property rights offenses. Piracy of music, movies and software is rampant in China, where bootleg copies can be easily found and sold on street corners.

Coinciding with Holder's visit, China announced it will launch a new national campaign to crack down on intellectual property rights violations. The campaign will take aim at the production and distribution of pirated goods such as DVDs and software products. Violations relating to registered trademarks and patents will also be targeted. The campaign will last for half a year.