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China’s Current IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) Environment
What’s the current IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) Environment of China?
Since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), China has strengthened its legal framework and amended its IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) and related laws and regulations to comply with the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs).
Despite stronger statutory protection, China continues to be a haven for counterfeiters and pirates. According to one copyright industry association, the piracy rate remains one of the highest in the world (over 90 percent) and oversea companies lose over one billion dollar in legitimate business each year to piracy. On average, 20 percent of all consumer products in the Chinese market are counterfeit. If a product sells, it is likely to be illegally duplicated. U.S. companies are not alone, as pirates and counterfeiters target both foreign and domestic companies.
Though we have observed commitment on the part of many central government officials to tackle the problem, enforcement measures taken to date have not been sufficient to deter massive IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) infringements effectively. There are several factors that undermine enforcement measures, including China’s reliance on administrative instead of criminal measures to combat IPR(Intellectual Property Rights) infringements, corruption and local protectionism at the provincial levels, limited resources and training available to enforcement officials, and lack of public education regarding the economic and social impact of counterfeiting and piracy.