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

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