NCJ Number
190862
Date Published
January 2000
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This monograph examines China's Regulations on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights by Customs.
Abstract
The monograph chronologically outlines the major multilateral intellectual property agreements (IPR) to which China has acceded; provides a synopsis of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; and summarizes the 1989, 1992, and 1995 bilateral IPR agreements that China entered into with the United States. This historical overview serves as a backdrop to an analysis of China's Regulations on the Protection on Intellectual Property Rights by Customs. The analysis addresses select substantive provisions of the 1995 Regulations as well as the practical realities of their enforcement, including local protectionism for counterfeiters and pirates; bureaucratic rivalries among administrative IPR enforcement agencies; and the insufficiency of fines and penalties and criminal prosecution for IPR violations. It is argued that the Chinese Customs is the agency best positioned to protect American interests against counterfeit and pirated intellectual property exported from and imported to China. However, Chinese Customs is ill-equipped to stem the flow of trans-border shipments due to the lack of a developed socioeconomic and legal infrastructure. Endnotes, references