China will punish officials who do not enforce intellectual property rights (IPR) protection under a new State Council program that intensifies the country's crackdown on IPR infringement.

The Action Program on IPR Protection, issued by the General Office of the State Council, is an attempt to "bring IPR infringement activities under effective control" and provides what it calls an effective IPR protection mechanism.

"Intellectual property protection should be placed high on the agenda of regional governments and integrated into master plans for economic and social development," said the program.

It urged implementing an accountability systems, under which officials will be punished for not enforcing IPR protection and covering up IPR infringement cases.

According to the program, China will close down production lines that produce pirated discs and crack down on the transport and sale of pirated products.

The use of authorized software will be required at all levels.

Administrators of marketplaces will be held accountable for the sale of fake products. Marketplaces may be forced to close down for severe trademark infringement.

A national complaint system will be established to receive and handle complaints.

IPR protection will be included into a national program to publicize laws and taught in primary and high schools.

The program called for increasing international cooperation and exchanges to fight IPR infringement.

China has stepped up IPR protection in recent years in an effort to promote creativity and innovation.

In one of the latest moves, the government has ordered all computers manufactured in China to be pre-installed with authorized operating systems before they leave the factory.

It also orders governments to only purchase computers with pre-installed authorized operating systems.