CHINA

New Protection for Intellectual Property: China will begin cracking down on illegal duplications of foreign recordings starting April 30, an official newspaper reported. The China Daily quoted Li Xu, vice minister of the State Science and Technology Commission, as saying that China will become a member of an international convention aimed at discouraging unauthorized duplication. Zheng Chengsi, adviser to the International Copyright Society and Chinese Society of Copyright Studies, said protection will extend to the convention’s 44 members. He said China will also crack down on imports of illegal duplications. China has long been a major producer of illegal copies of musical recordings and other intellectual properties such as computer software.