(Nov. 5, 2010) On October 18, 2010, the General Office of China's State Council issued a notice requiring central government ministries and commissions and local governments to use genuine and authorized computer software. (Guo Ban Fa [2010] No. 47 [in Chinese], Central People's Government website, http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2010-10/28/content_1732603.ht
m.)
According to the notice, the central government has been promoting the use of genuine software since 2001, a policy that has been realized in principle, it stated, in central, provincial, and municipal government organs. The notice was issued to strengthen this achievement. The notice orders special inspection and rectification measures to be carried out in connection with the use of pirated software in government organs at all levels, with a focus on office software and anti-virus software. The inspection and rectification must be completed by May 2011 for central government organs and by October 2011 for provincial, municipal, and county-level governments, said the notice. (Id.)
The order is part of a campaign to fight intellectual property rights infringement and the manufacture and sale of counterfeit goods, which was decided on in an executive meeting the State Council held on October 19, 2010, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao. (Wen Jiabao Zhuchi Zhaokai Guowuyuan Changwu Huiyi, Jueding Kaizhan Daji Qinfan Zhishi Chanquan he Zhishou Jiamao Weilie Shangpin Zhuanxiang Xingdong [Wen Jiabao Presides over Executive Meeting of the State Council, Decides to Launch a Campaign to Crack Down on Intellectual Property Rights Infringement and the Manufacture and Sale of Counterfeit Goods], XINHUANET (Oct. 19, 2010), http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2010-10/19/c_1267
7614.htm.) The meeting decided that the campaign would be launched nation-wide for six months, beginning from the end of October 2010 (id.).