China launches campaign to protect foreign intellectual property rights
September 26, 2017 Category IPR protection, Weekly
China has launched a four-month campaign to protect the intellectual property rights (IPRs) of foreign businesses, a move that may alleviate a major concern among foreign investors and appease Washington ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing in November.
The Trump administration last month officially launched a probe into alleged Chinese intellectual property theft and the findings could lead to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Chinese products – potentially triggering a trade war between the economies. Steve Bannon, the former White House Chief Strategist, told the South China Morning Post in an interview in Hong Kong that Washington would release the results of the probe before a Sino-U.S. summit in Beijing so both sides can reset trade with “a whole series of negotiations”.
It is the first time the Chinese government has started a nationwide campaign to protect foreign businesses’ intellectual property. The drive, which runs from this month to the end of December, is designed to “create a level playground”, protect investors’ legitimate interests and “further increase foreign investment”, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). In addition to MOFCOM, another 12 Chinese government and judicial bodies, including the Ministry of Public Security and the Supreme Court, are taking part in the campaign to crack down on the theft of trade secrets, trademark infringement, patent violations and online property rights violations.
Each government department has been assigned its respective focus. The State Administration of Industry and Commerce is leading the efforts to protect foreign trademarks, while prosecutors give special attention to investigate any corruption or neglect of duty involved in intellectual property violations.
Some foreign hi-tech investors are wary of investing in China due to intellectual property rights issues. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China dropped 6.5% from a year earlier to USD72.1 billion in the first seven months of this year, the South China Morning Post reports.
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