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Winter Olympic Games in Beijing

Chinese man gets jail time for making counterfeit Olympic souvenirs

It is the first criminal case of copyright infringement for images of Olympic mascots

BEIJING, February 14. /TASS/. A court in Beijing sentenced a Chinese citizen to one year in prison for manufacturing and selling counterfeit souvenirs with symbols of the Winter Olympics taking place in the Chinese capital, Tang Zhaozhi, a spokesman for the propaganda department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said at a press conference Monday.

"The suspect, whose surname is Zhen, was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 40,000 yuan ($6,300 -TASS)," the spokesman said.

He said it is the first criminal case of copyright infringement for images of Olympic mascots - a panda named Bing Dwen Dwen and an anthropomorphic red Chinese lantern dubbed Shuey Rhon Rhon.

Goods with Olympic symbols are very popular with the Chinese. People stand in long lines to get a souvenir that will remind them of the Olympics. Chinese authorities are paying close attention to copyrights on these products.

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Winter Olympic Games in Beijing

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