Evolution of Intellectual Property Protection in Post-Mao China: Law and Enforcement

In modern society, knowledge and information have become the most important resources. Knowledge and information bring dramatic changes and create great wealth for our society. Intellectual property (IP) rights, exclusive rights granted to right holders, are designed to encourage innovation and dissemination of knowledge and information. Nowadays, IP has become a major concern for the global community. Article 7 of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) states as its objective that ‘the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations.’ 1 China has emerged as a leading center for the manufacturing industry by virtue of low cost and large manpower pools. China is striving to assert its presence in the global market as a technologically developed country. During the past thirty years, China not only enacted and subsequently revised a series of IP laws to optimize the legal system, but also implemented administrative reforms and launched several special campaigns to strengthen IP enforcement. These efforts demonstrate China’s determination to improve IP protection.