Alternative Perspectives on the Intellectual Property 'Enforcement Problem' in China

Abstract

Commentators on the protection of intellectual property (IP) in China overwhelmingly agree that a substantial gap exists between legislation and enforcement.

This paper aims to re-evaluate the enforcement of IP in China and to consider if such an enforcement ‘problem’ or ‘gap’ really exists, by employing two alternative methods of evaluating China’s IP enforcement.

Firstly, the supposed enforcement problem will be outlined by sketching the development of IP in China over the past twenty-five years. Then, a comparison will be made between the development of IP in China and other Asian countries such as Taiwan and South Korea to consider if China really is falling behind the comparable stages of development witnessed in other countries. Finally, China’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) obligations under the TRIPS agreement (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) will be used to assess if China is complying with the relevant obligations on enforcement.

The paper will close with a re-evaluation of the IP ‘enforcement problem’ in China and concludes that although China has made substantial progress towards complying with its obligations on paper, China’s progress towards effective enforcement of IP does seem to have stalled and the reasons for this justify closer attention.

Keywords: China, IPR, enforcement