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 rights holders, although foreign rights holders are increasingly turning to the civil system for redress. While seeing some success, the United States continues to hear complaints of a lack of consistent, uniform and fair enforcement of China's IPR laws and regulations in the civil courts. Litigants have found that most judges lack necessary technical training, court rules regarding evidence, expert witnesses, and protection of confidential information are vague or ineffective, and the costs of investigation and bringing cases are prohibitively high. In the patent area, where civil enforcement is of particular importance, the process is inefficient and unpredictable. A single case can take four to seven years to complete.

Enforcement of intellectual property rights is inconsistent across China. Many locations in China require increased attention and resources to improve weak criminal, administrative, and/or civil enforcement for various forms of IPR. Some areas appear to have become focal points for IPR problems with respect to particular products. The recently increased attention to "hot spots" by national and local authorities in China is a welcome development if such efforts are sustained over time to deter infringing activity.

Based on information reviewed for this year's Special 301 Report, the U.S. government looks to China to take action in the following national "hot spots" where there appears to be an acute need to more effectively establish and sustain proactive, deterrent IPR enforcement:

Guangdong Province is the center of large-scale counterfeit and pirate manufacturing in China for a variety of goods, ranging from low-cost consumer goods, such as household items, clothing and optical media, to high-technology products, such as computer equipment, video game consoles (and game discs/cartridges), and other electronics. Guangdong's role as an export engine creates a need for more deterrent customs remedies. Availability of criminal remedies is also a problem; a notable example is the need for prosecutions to address optical media piracy. Localities and markets identified as problem areas by IPR owners include Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shantou, Chaoyang, and Jieyang, as well as several markets in Baiyun District, Luowu Market at the border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and numerous other markets.

Beijing City is both the nation's capital and one of its most visible centers for retail counterfeiting and piracy. Rights holders report that protection varies in different parts of the city. Problem areas include major markets, such as the infamous Silk Street Market located near the U.S. Embassy; numerous CD/DVD shops operating with official permission in the Chaoyang District and elsewhere in the city (some of which have been the subject of raids); and several markets that reportedly permit consumers to order infringing software loaded onto computers. Efforts by copyright authorities to crack down on retail outlets have to date had very limited success. Beijing trademark officials have become increasingly active in addressing retail counterfeiting issues, but these efforts have been incomplete. For example, Beijing has a special list of protected brands that appears to include primarily European brands. Beijing's university campuses have also been cited by right holders as magnets for textbook piracy, and they offer a broadband environment that can support copyright infringement.