09-22-2018, 05:24 AM
“The US is acting swiftly on Intellectual Property theft. We cannot allow this to happen as it has for many years!” Mr Trump tweeted. At a local level, however, the problem Mr Trump has identified — IP theft — is one where China has made considerable progress in recent years, experts say. Holly White of global IP consultancy Rouse said China had made strides towards reform on combating intellectual property theft by individual companies. “There have been several high-profile cases of Chinese IP theft in the past, and as a result, the Chinese government is rapidly developing a first-class system to deal with IP infringements and to improve its international reputation,” she said.
Mr Trump’s concerns seem to have more to do with large-scale industrial policy than with local courts. Many foreign governments are worried about China’s new “Made in China 2025” initiative aimed at creating national champions in 10 industries, from robotics to electric cars. The strategy calls for China to achieve 40 per cent self-sufficiency by 2020, and 70 per cent self-sufficiency in specific industries by 2025. “The US government’s recent assertions on China and IP theft are more to do with China’s status as an emerging ‘innovation nation’, which directly challenges the USA’s position as a leader in the area,” said Ms White. That has created fears of pressure on foreign companies to transfer technology to Chinese companies — especially through licensing agreements and joint ventures.
International property rights lawyers agree that US trade policy ignores big changes in favour of IP protection. Foreign companies win 80-90 per cent of cases in local courts, according to Erick Robinson of law firm Beijing East IP. In 2016, one judge in Beijing said foreign companies had won 65 cases and lost none in his court. Based on this alone, said Mr Robinson, “it is clear that the government of China supports advertising its patent courts to foreign plaintiffs”. Mr Robinson said China was once the ‘laughing stock’ in the world of intellectual property. But he said it “has created an effective, efficient, and remarkably fair patent enforcement system.”
Chinese courts curb IP theft as US sees bigger threat | Financial Times