Intellectual Property Law in the P. R. China: A Powerful Economic Tool for Innovation and Development

BackgroundWith the awakening of the People’s Republic of China to the global economy, the world has witnessed a gradual re-orientation of Chinese intellectual property policy towards a better protection of national and economic interests for the promotion of domestic innovation and development.Research objective This paper aims at critically analyzing the evolution and present state of Chinese intellectual property policy with reference to the larger context of a rethinking of the purposes and rationales of intellectual property rights and the larger context of the political economy of international intellectual property protection.Methodology This paper relies on both socio-legal and economic methodology and, thus, considers law in the context of broader social, political, and economic theories.StructureThis paper provides an introduction to the purposes of international intellectual property protection by looking at intellectual property protection in historical perspective, by analyzing today’s intellectual property law and policy as integral part of international trade policy, and by elaborating upon the future of intellectual property rationales. The second part looks at the political economy of intellectual property protection through both an analysis of the economics and politics of intellectual property protection and an analysis of the interrelationship of intellectual property protection and economic development in the P.R. China. The final part of the paper discusses three phases of modern Chinese intellectual property policy in the light of the international intellectual property development.Conclusion Chinese modern and proactive intellectual property policy will eventually contribute to the emergence of the P.R. China as a potent force in reshaping the global intellectual property landscape.