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Chow,D . "Enforcement Against Counterfeiting in the People's Republic of China" Northwestern journal of international law & business [0196-3228] 20.3 447-.
This article is written in a clear and precise manner. The subject matter is extremely valuable to any study of intellectual property rights in China, as it deals specifically with current methods of enforcement for counterfeiting. Unlike many articles, this paper does not present theoretical reasons for China’s inability to police its IPR problems but gives specific reasons and examples of how Chinese law enforcement works.
Daniel Chow chose to focus exclusively on counterfeiting, which is a subset of IPR violations. Counterfeiting can infringe on both copyrighted material and patented material but necessarily violates trademark law. Therefore, counterfeiting is an extremely important subject matter for IPR studies. In his article, Chow leads the reader through the different stages of enforcement for counterfeit goods. He starts with the process of seizing and confiscating goods and paraphernalia and proceeds to describe the process and result of fines against offenders. He then poses reasons for why these fines are inadequate; for example, monetary values are based on the price of the counterfeit goods, not the price of the brand products.
Next, Chow explains how criminal liability is enacted in Chinese law, and discusses the problems, such as the burden of proof lying upon the prosecutors and not the counterfeiter. For example, to prove criminal liability the prosecutor must show that the counterfeiter made profits of at least $6000. This is extremely difficult because illegal businesses don’t keep legitimate records, and therefore criminal liability would be nearly impossible to prove. Chow follows by exploring whether manufacturers, distributors, or landlords of retailers are prosecuted most and who should be targeted more. Chow then discusses how civil action works in China. Finally, he presents some problems for future enforcement against counterfeiting.
This article contains a large amount of useful information and is presented in a very methodical and simple manner. The information is useful because it demonstrates from an empirical and not theoretical perspective how IPR enforcement works in China. This becomes important for the project's thesis when one considers the practical nature of taking any approach other than a gradual increase in IPR protection.
Daniel Chow chose to focus exclusively on counterfeiting, which is a subset of IPR violations. Counterfeiting can infringe on both copyrighted material and patented material but necessarily violates trademark law. Therefore, counterfeiting is an extremely important subject matter for IPR studies. In his article, Chow leads the reader through the different stages of enforcement for counterfeit goods. He starts with the process of seizing and confiscating goods and paraphernalia and proceeds to describe the process and result of fines against offenders. He then poses reasons for why these fines are inadequate; for example, monetary values are based on the price of the counterfeit goods, not the price of the brand products.
Next, Chow explains how criminal liability is enacted in Chinese law, and discusses the problems, such as the burden of proof lying upon the prosecutors and not the counterfeiter. For example, to prove criminal liability the prosecutor must show that the counterfeiter made profits of at least $6000. This is extremely difficult because illegal businesses don’t keep legitimate records, and therefore criminal liability would be nearly impossible to prove. Chow follows by exploring whether manufacturers, distributors, or landlords of retailers are prosecuted most and who should be targeted more. Chow then discusses how civil action works in China. Finally, he presents some problems for future enforcement against counterfeiting.
This article contains a large amount of useful information and is presented in a very methodical and simple manner. The information is useful because it demonstrates from an empirical and not theoretical perspective how IPR enforcement works in China. This becomes important for the project's thesis when one considers the practical nature of taking any approach other than a gradual increase in IPR protection.
belongs to Copyright and Culture Bibliography project
tagged China Counterfeiting Enforcement IPR by rogerlm ...on 31-JUL-06
tagged China Counterfeiting Enforcement IPR by rogerlm ...on 31-JUL-06