BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- China has strengthened the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games, the country's IPR authorities said Wednesday.

Zhang Zhicheng, head of the protection department of China's National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA), told a press conference that an action plan for IPR protection of the two sporting events has been initiated across the country.

Noting that the action plan aims to enhance the protection of Olympic symbols according to China's Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols, Zhang said it will also protect design patents and registered trademarks of Olympic symbols in accordance with the patent law and the trademark law.

The plan will help improve the popularization of IPR protection involving Olympic symbols and raise legal awareness of IPR among the public, he added.

Zhang said the action plan focuses on IPR protection in key areas such as commodity production bases, logistics distribution centers and e-commerce platform headquarters, as well as promotes information sharing among related authorities.