E3G

Intellectual Property Rights in China: Myths versus Reality

By Ian Harvey and Jennifer Morgan

E3G is currently undertaking a variety of coalition-building, analytical and advisory activities aimed at stimulating a step-change in the global response to the challenges of energy and climate security. One of the areas of focus for E3G’s analysis is on the potential roadblocks or barriers which, if not dealt with carefully, could slow down or halt progress on tackling climate change. This paper addresses this issue with a specific focus on Intellectual Property Rights in China. A version in pdf is attached for download.

While the issue of “technology transfer” has been on the climate change agenda since the inception of the UN Climate Change Convention, it has yet to make any progress, due to various political and economic constraints. One suggested reason for this that continues to emerge is that of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), particularly in relation to China and other emerging economies.

In order to deepen the international conversation on these issues, which will be discussed at this year’s G8 summit in Germany, E3G has partnered with the Intellectual Property Institute to outline the myths and facts around IPR issues in China and to begin to suggest ways forward. A further piece of work will follow shortly including concrete suggestions of how to move forward on technology cooperation in the climate field.

About the Authors

Ian Harvey is Chairman of the Intellectual Property Institute in London. He was the chairman of the UK Government’s Intellectual Property Advisory Committee and is the retired CEO of BTG plc.

Jennifer Morgan is Director of Climate and Energy Security at E3G, Third Generation Environmentalism Ltd.

The authors would like to thank Zornitsa Vakova for her contribution of original research to this report.

Intellectual Property Rights in China: Myths versus Reality

Overview

This paper aims to give an objective evaluation of the state of IPR protection in China and create a setting for a productive discussion on the issue.

It is not well understood that the quality of IP law in China is very high and that IP rights are of good quality, inexpensive and relatively quick to obtain. It is also true, however, that the enforcement of IP rights varies widely across the regions of China – from very good to poor.

It is also clear that, in many cases, Western companies are not as focused as they should be on understanding the Chinese system and putting in place processes to ensure that their IPR is protected.
To operate effectively in China it is important to separate IPR myths from reality.