Releasing details of its overall progress in cracking down on piracy and other intellectual property rights violations, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday it now plans a wide-ranging consultation process among a cross-section of the Chinese literary community, including literary property owners and agents, and Apple itself, about the case.

According to China Daily's report, "The main aim will be to force the company to put systems in place to better-protect the lawful rights of intellectual property owners, under a common standard for IPR protection globally.

During the briefing, officials also strongly disputed recent claims by the American Chamber of Commerce in China that IPR standards in the country have been dropping, damaging its business reputation abroad."

In late March, 22 leading Chinese writers sued Apple for pirating their works, claiming the US firm was infringing upon their copyrights by offering pirated e-book versions of their work on its App Store platform.

At that Time, Reuters quoted Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu as stating that "As an IP holder ourselves, we understand the importance of protecting intellectual property, and when we receive complaints we respond promptly and appropriately."

For more on this, visit China Daily.