China`s Response to the Global IPR Regime: Compliance or Resistance?

Abstract

China`s behavior toward the international intellectual property rights (IPR) regime is a reflection of the tug-of-war between the regime and national interests. IPR, a concept foreign to Chinese culture, has begun to influence China since the beginning of economic reforms in 1978, through both external and internal pressures. This article attempts to show how the power of international rules and national interests impact upon China`s IPR behavior by analyzing its IPR-related foreign relations, legal framework, and enforcement. The analysis can be broken down into three periods: interest but not compliance from 1979 to 1990; moving toward compromise during the 1990s; and complying under the WTO regime since the beginning of the twenty-first century. This article concludes that China`s IPR protection gives priority to national interests rather than fully accepting the global IPR order. However, the global IPR regime is helping China orient itself to a new agenda-a knowledge-based economy-and thus become more willing to comply with the IPR regime. The Chinese central government`s ability to enforce IPR policy at the local level is an important benchmark for estimating China`s response to the global IPR regime in the future.