As part of its attack on copyright infringement, China has launched a crackdown on the use of internet cafes to watch pirated films, it has been revealed.

According to reports in Variety, authorities in the country have begun imposing more stringent punishments for the offence.

The Beijing High People's Court has stated that tougher penalties will be developed after three local courts dealt with ten copyright cases involving internet cafes.

One of the cases involved a lawsuit filed by Chinese producer Huayi Brothers, which had sued a number of cafes for screening the film Mountain Patrol.

The court ruled that the internet cafes had violated Huayi Brothers's right to online dissemination of information and ordered the cafes to pay compensation.

Meanwhile, another case saw a cafe fined $3,300 after it showed a pirated version of the film Assembly.

Internet cafes enjoy significant popularity in China, with 113,000 such venues registered in the country and more operating illegally, Variety reports.

The tightening of restrictions on internet cafes is part of China's wider policy of reducing instances of piracy within its borders.

Indeed, in recent years, the country has launched a series of initiatives targeting breaches related to the infringement of copyrights, trademarks and patent rights.

Last year alone, 2,967 people were arrested for suspected violation of intellectual property rights, according to reports in the Hindu.