Twelve bronze sculpture molds were smashed to pieces by their creators during a ceremony on July 30 to show the artists' resolve in protecting copyrights.

The event in Yichuan county was part of Henan province's first sculpture show that started in February. Technicians made the molds with resin or silica gel based on clay or gesso models made by sculptors.

"If the molds are destroyed, we can never make exactly the same wax patterns for casting, which means we will never replicate the identical sculptures," said Wang Shengli, chairman of Jiamei Handicrafts Co Ltd.