One of the first experiences a visitor to China may have is a friendly and eager invitation by a Chinese vendor to follow them to their stand in order to buy watches, bags, DVDs or other items—for a fraction of the amount one would pay in Europe or the United States.
Although in recent years the Chinese government has undertaken massive campaigns against counterfeiters and drum up awareness, fake products are still ubiquitous in China. Statistics give an impression of the dimension of the business of counterfeiting in China: seven in ten European companies doing business in China say they have been victims of intellectual property rights (IPR) theft.
In 2006, European manufacturers estimated that IPR infringements cost them one dollar in every five they made in China. More than half of all the goods seized by EU customs come from China. Counterfeiting is not restricted to luxury goods or famous brands- it takes place in all industry areas and includes day-to-day products. Experts estimate that 10 percent of world trade is based on fakes and stolen IPR causes US$477 billion in damage.
Surveys conducted by national chambers of commerce reveal that companies throughout the United States and Europe do not use existing legal measures to protect and defend their IPR in China. Although the risk of IPR infringement is widely known, a vast majority of companies doing business in the country have not filed their IP rights here citing high costs as one of the main reasons.
In this article, Dezan Shira & Associates outline the intellectual property legislation in China, including trademarks, copyright and patents, as well as unfair competition.
