The Chinese government has launched a half-year campaign to crack down on the violation of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and the production and distribution of fake and shoddy products.

The campaign, beginning in November, targets pirated publications, software products, DVDs, designs and other products with IPRs. It also targets violations of registered trademarks and patents at both the production and distribution level, a circular released Thursday.

The General Administration of Press and Publication, the National Copyright Administration and the National Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office jointly issued the circular.

The campaign focuses on 14 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions including Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

In addition, an unnamed official with the National Copyright Administration said an ongoing campaign targeting video and e-commerce web sites will be extended to February to strike hard against the illegal spread of films and videos via the Internet.