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Posted: Mon., Apr. 28, 2008, 1:55pm PT

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A Chinese court has jailed a Beijing man for selling pirated DVDs, making him the capital's first citizen to be imprisoned for intellectual property theft, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.

Zhou Cheng, 40, was also fined 10,000 yuan ($1,430) for selling fake DVDs for $2 each at a store in a supermarket in Beijing's Chaoyang district, where more than 10,000 discs were found.

Zhou was arrested on Dec. 15. Previously, selling pirate DVDs came under a charge of illegal management.

Verdict came soon after Intl. Intellectual Property Rights Day, which China marked with displays of its redoubled efforts to stamp out widescale counterfeiting and piracy ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August..

It is offering rewards of $14 and more for citizens who snitch on copyright violators and has set up a hotline and email address for residents to send in tips.