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The Surprising Rise of China As IP Powerhouse (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the there's-a-new-sheriff-in-town dept.

hackingbear quotes a report from TechCrunch: China is not only taking the spotlight in strong defense of global markets and free trade, filling a vacuum left by retreating Western capitalist democracies, China is quickly becoming a (if not the) global leader in intellectual property protection and enforcement. And there too, just as Western democracies (especially the United States) have grown increasingly skeptical of the value of intellectual property and have weakened protection and enforcement, China has been steadily advancing its own intellectual property system and the protected assets of its companies and citizens. In addition to filing twice as many patents as the U.S., China is increasingly being selected as a key venue for patent litigation between non-Chinese companies. Why? Litigants feel they are treated fairly. Reports indicated that in 2015, 65 foreign plaintiffs won all of their cases against other foreign companies before Beijing's IP court. And even foreign plaintiffs suing Chinese companies won about 81 percent of their patent cases, roughly the same as domestic Chinese plaintiffs. China's journey from piracy to protection models the journeys of other Western and Asian countries. While building its industrial economies, the U.S. and major European powers violated IP laws with no consideration. As reported by The Guardian, Doron Ben-Atar, a history professor at Fordham University, has noted that "U.S. and every major European state engaged in technology piracy and industrial espionage in the 18th and 19th century." It took Western economies a hundred or more years to change that behavior. China's mind-whipping change is happening over decades, not centuries.

5 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. It's only "surprising" to arrogant idiots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    "Chinese can only copy and make lower quality stuff" is this stupid arrogant colonialist misconception.

    They are as smart as all of us humans, and if they get a decent education, they are as capable of producing "IP" and of defending it in court.

    Just wait and see. Oh, USA, seems you lived for too long from rent. You are going to crumble like the Soviet empire did, shortly ago. We'll see some little wars in your backyard, the once proud bald eagle eating flies and worms.

    1. Re:It's only "surprising" to arrogant idiots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They are capable, but why bother producing IP yourself if someone else has already done the heavy lifting?

      You can just woosh in, take what's theirs, and they will have a horrible time trying to take you on. I've even heard people defending Chinese IP thieves saying that the person who came up with it should have worked with the Chinese from the beginning... haha, yeah it might have stopped them from stealing it and you get nothing, but that's not really an excuse.

    2. Re:It's only "surprising" to arrogant idiots by vivian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The made in China stuff is usually poor quality because that's what the importers are choosing to get manufactured and bring in - squeezing for the lowest price, while not having sufficient quality control, so naturally you get exactly what you are paying for.

      China can make good quality stuff - and quality control can make sure it stays consistently good - but you have to pay more for good quality and that's just not what the importers are generally choosing to bring in.

  2. IP is unethical by BeanThere · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Intellectual Property" should be abolished; patents in particular are evil. Patents are one of the biggest reasons we in 2017 we have 'robbed of our Jetsons future'.

  3. the signs... not of innovation, but... by ooloorie · · Score: 3, Insightful

    In addition to filing twice as many patents as the U.S.

    Well, that sure is a sign of innovation! /sarcasm

    China is increasingly being selected as a key venue for patent litigation between non-Chinese companies. Why?

    Perhaps because it is a totalitarian state friendly to the interests of well-connected corporations?

    Litigants feel they are treated fairly. Reports indicated that in 2015, 65 foreign plaintiffs won all of their cases against other foreign companies before Beijing's IP court.

    Ah, thought so!