Chinese authorities delay anti-piracy measures

China’s cabinet has delayed inspections to ensure central and local government offices are using legitimate software, The Wall Street Journal reported. China’s Vice Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei originally promised the State Council would complete a review to weed out pirated software by October 2011, but said Tuesday that it would not happen until sometime in 2012. When asked about the reason for the delay, Jiang said, “Better areas like Beijing and Shanghai can compare with Washington or New York, but the poor areas I think are not very different from certain places in Africa, so arrangements for fiscal revenue in local areas must be budgeted.” The Business Software Alliance, an international industry group, estimates that 78% of software installed in China is pirated. Jiang also announced that Vice Premier Wang Qishan would head a new government office to coordinate work on counterfeiting and intellectual property violations.