Abstract:  An analysis of the 100 online copyright infringement cases reveals that China has steadily intensified punishment on criminal copyright infringements by means of both policy making and legal mechanisms. As demonstrated by these cases, such infringements are diversified. In the judicial practice, emphasis is laid on punishing crime jointly; it is no longer a technical problem to determine whether the use made of a work in any particular case is for commercial purpose; fines are more readily applicable for these infringements; efforts have been made to mitigate punishment. The analysis also shows that there are a number of issues to be addressed. For example, crimes committed by a unit are sometimes overlooked; accessories are seldom punished; and crimes committed in the mobile network largely go unpunished. The paper suggests that efforts should be made to discourage the“campaignstyle justice”and“selective justice”in China’s legal protection of copyright and it also proposes an overall strategy of“positive action”in legislation and“prudent balance”in the judiciary.

Key words:  Internet crime, Online Copyright Infringement, empirical, judicial strategy