The China Academy of Telecommunication Research (CATR), at the request of the National Copyright Administration,  released a report on April 26, 2016 on Copyright Protection in the Online Environment.

The report noted that  there were 2,118 on line civil copyright cases in total, an increase of 28.3% from last year (this total number seems smaller than I would have guessed).  The SPC White Paper reported that overall there were 66,690 civil cases, an increase of 12.1% from 2014.  Regarding civil on line copyright enforcement, 44% of the online cases involved music and 18% involved audiovisual infringement.  Amongst the IP courts, Guangdong had the highest percentage of cases (39.5%), followed by Shanghai (33.5%) and Beijing (16.5).  However, the province with the most cases was Hubei (476), followed by Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Jiangsu) (see chart below).

The report also notes several important legal and policy initiatives, including directives from the National Copyright Administration on online liability, and a revision to the Criminal Code, making it clear that on line technology providers can be held criminally liable for copyright infringement.  The report also singles out the release of a draft of  proposed rule on Copyright Administrative Enforcement. (著作权行政处罚实施办法 （修订征求意见稿）as well as new rules Concerning Specifications of the Copyright Order In Online Transmissions (关于规范网络转载版权秩序的 通知),  Stopping Online Music Service Providers Transmitting Unauthorized Content(关于责令网络音乐服 务商停止未经授权传播音乐作品 的通知)and the Rule Concerning Specifications of the Order of Cloud Driver Service Provider Copyright (关于规范网盘服务 版权秩序的通知).

Data on copyright administrative and criminal enforcement in the online environment was not made available in this report.   According to the SPC White Paper, there were 523 criminal copyright cases, involved 547 people.  Moreover, news reports accompanying its release reported the following data: during the Sword Network Campaign in 2015, there were 383 administrative enforcement actions, with fines of 4.5 million RMB, 59 cases transferred to criminal prosecution, and 113 websites closed.