China IPR enforcement: hard as steel or soft as tofu? Bringing the question to the WTO under trips

The protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) is one of the main issues on the international trade agenda, particularly with respect to China. Currently, China is under severe scrutiny for the implementation and enforcement of IPR laws and regulations in compliance with its obligations under...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Georgetown journal of international law 2007-09, Vol.39 (1), p.217
Main Author: Athanasakou, Konstantina K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Compliance
Councils
Counterfeiting
Fines & penalties
Infringement
Intellectual property
Intellectual property law
International trade
Laws, regulations and rules
Remedies
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) is one of the main issues on the international trade agenda, particularly with respect to China. Currently, China is under severe scrutiny for the implementation and enforcement of IPR laws and regulations in compliance with its obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and its WTO Accession Protocol. WTO Members, particularly the US, express concern over China's progress in imposing criminal penalties for IPR infringement, the adequacy of enforcement of IPR through administrative and civil actions, the absence of self-initiated investigations and action by the Chinese authorities, the disparate treatment among domestic and foreign right holders of IPR, and the overall lack of deterrent effect under current IPR provisions. Due to its lack of adequate IPR legislation and enforcement, China is on the US Section 301 priority watch list, and the US has recently decided to use WTO mechanisms as a check on China's progress toward TRIPS compliance.
ISSN:1550-5200