The copyright administration of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, is expanding its database to include copyrighted images in the cultural and creative industry to improve the efficiency and deter infringement.

Conventional text descriptions of products will be supplemented by colors, shades and textures of images. The site also carries legal information, industry standards and other information that enriches the data.

Comparisons and searches will allow higher efficiency in the display, inquiry, trading, supervision and inspection of copyrighted material, said the local copyright administration.

The upgrade is part of efforts to build what the administration calls the Guangzhou Copyright Comprehensive Information Service Platform.

A key task of the system is to meet the challenge of detecting and collecting evidence of copyright violations in cyberspace, said Zhou Xianhua, an official with the administration.

The new system also includes modules for copyright registration, statistics and protection, as well as public services and matching small enterprises with academic institutions.

On Dec 9, Guangzhou became the sixth city in the country to receive the status of a national model city for copyright administration.

With the richest talent, education, scientific and technological resources in South China, Guangzhou has been the top provincial capital in the number of copyright registrations and authorizations for the last 11 straight years.

The added value from the copyright industry in Guangzhou topped 195.75 billion yuan ($32.24 billion) last year.

The software industry generated 90.2 billion yuan in the first seven months of this year, up 26 percent year-on-year.

Founded in 1998, Guangzhou-based ZWCAD Software Co, which makes computer-aided design and manufacturing products, will generate about 110 million yuan in revenues this year, said its executive deputy general manager Liu Yufeng.

The company now invests 30 percent of its revenue into research and development.

Its authorized 2D product licenses totaled 320,000 in more than 80 countries at the end of last year. It launched its 3D products in 2010 after acquiring the US company VX Corp.

Its rapid growth came as the government started to pay greater attention to copyright protection, Liu said, adding the company now holds 51 copyrights.

Established in 1997, Guangzhou Comicfans Culture Technology Co has had the top position in the circulation of comic publications in the country over the past 10 years, said its managing director, Yu Yong.

It has distributed 36 million copies of its Funny School series, which was listed in the 2012 plan for building and protection of domestic comic brands by the Ministry of Culture.

It has registered copyrights for 144 of its products, with Funny School series exported to countries and regions including Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

As one of the first group of comic makers to receive an Internet publishing license, the company has supplied content to the three domestic telecommunications operators and some overseas mobile phone carriers.

Its steps to prevent piracy include the country's special anti-piracy mark on some of its publications that readers can authenticate through free text messages and phone calls.

Founded in 2002, Guangzhou Okay Geographic Information Technology Service Co develops geographic information for smart city and smart marketing applications and cultural heritage protection.

It aims to operate a cloud service digital copyright application service and go public in three years, said Chairman Xiong Aiwu.

Longshine (Guangzhou) Publishing Co has become an influential copyright owner on the mainland of swordsmen literature. Its core asset is the copyright for simplified Chinese and audio versions of works by Hong Kong novelist Louis Cha.

With cooperation with a number of overseas publishers, Longshine has also acquired the copyrights for simplified Chinese versions of works by novelists Liang Yusheng and Gu Long.

The company has developed more than 3,000 types of products, and licensed copyrights to overseas organizations.

liwenfang@chinadaily.com.cn

Throngs of enthusiasts surround the Comicfans booth at a comic and games fair in 2011. Provided to China Daily

(China Daily 12/25/2013 page17)