BEIJING-- Chinese courts have handed out sentences ranging from six months to six years to 18 people involved in 10 cases of intellectual property rights (IPR) violations, the latest move to show the country's determination to combat piracy.

The 18 people were convicted to sell or print a large number of pirated textbooks, movie copies or discs with obscene content, according to a statement released by the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications Thursday,

The office is cooperating with the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Public Security and the General Administration of Press and Publication to crack down on piracy.

In one case, Zhang Xinfeng was found to sell more than 30,000 copies of textbooks, including more than 20,000 Tibetan books, to 25 schools in 19 Tibetan cities and counties between September 2009 to September 2010.

Zhang received a five-year jail term and was fined 100,000 yuan, according to a ruling by a Lhasa court in June this year.

In another case, Zhang Lin and Li Chunlei, who were found to have made90,000 unauthorized copies of Chinese director Jiang Wen's movie "Let the Bullets Fly" and other porn discs, received a four-year and one year jail term, respectively.