Rediscovering the Awakening Dragon, Part IV: A Fast-growing Force in IPR

Local Roots Bear Global Fruits

"China's fast development in the intellectual property sector contributed to the world's innovation cause, and the nation has encouraged the whole world by making remarkable progress in IPR protection in a short time."

This was the remark of Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), when he commented on China's development in the intellectual property sector in April 2009.

Since joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, China has strengthened its legal framework and amended its IPR laws and regulations to comply with the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

"China has established a trademark law system that suited both China and international regulations," said Tian Lipu, Director of the SIPO.

The protection of international trademarks has especially been reinforced. By 2008, more than 530,000 foreign trademarks from more than 130 countries or regions had been registered in China, according to the SIPO. The figure was more than 100 times more than that in 1979.

John Duggan, a longtime China watcher and established American attorney, knew what he was talking about.

"As a practitioner in the industry, I observed the Chinese governments' resolution to enhance China's over all IPR system, and I did see some effective measures the governments had taken to provide better IPR services to our businesses in the country," Duggan, who has visited China for neatly 20 times, told this journalist.

"The perception is evolving and the money that U.S. companies lose to piracy in China has dwindled. China will enhance its position in contract manufacturing and private labeling by developing an international reputation for protecting intellectual property."

Currently, China is the third largest market for U.S. technological export, and IPR has been an important issue in Sino-US trade.

In the eyes of Shi Mingshen, one of China's most influential business commentators, "poor IPR protection" has often been used as the West's easy excuse to bash China and build trade barriers against the country.

"Most countries placed on the American 'Priority Watch List' for IPR violations are major trading partners of the United States," Ms. Shi, China's top 20 most influential media people in the financial and economic sector, told this journalist.

"China is a latecomer in IPR protection, but has made considerable progress. The United States is good at using its laws and regulations to pick on competitors that may pose a threat."

"IPR is fundamental to fair treatment of the State's knowledge-intensive industries and services," said Dr. Shi. "The IPR environment for foreign businesses in China just keeps getting better and better."

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