China IP Crack-Down Figures

Xinhuanet presents some figures from the Chinese's Supreme People's Court on 2004's intellectual property (IP) crack-down in China:

• Courts tried & concluded 8,832 civil IP violation cases - up 46.82% from 2003
• Courts received 4,264 IP violation related cases - up 70.99% from 2003
• The criminal prosecution of IP violations led to the criminal punishment of 653 people in 932 cases.

I've got no idea what the numbers are for the USA or Europe, and if the Chinese convictions are of any real significance, considering its population and the size of the IP violations going on there. However, the figures do indicate a surge in the cases tried and the criminal convictions flowing from them. Especially the criminalization of IP violations seems to send a clear message and answer's to Western calls for harsher punishment. I wonder what the trend is worldwide.