Yang,D . "intellectual property abuses: how should multinationals respond?" Long range planning [0024-6301] 37.5 (2004). 459-475.

 

    This article presents a decidedly pro-business approach to the problem of piracy in China.  From the start, the article takes for granted that weak IPR is a bad thing that recalcitrant countries are loathe to enforce.  Furthermore, the article continues by providing statistics that show that China is one of the worst infringers in the world of intellectual property rights.  An example of this decidedly one-sided look at piracy and IP infringement appears on page 5.  “Piracy is not a victimless game as so many people think, but an unscrupulous practice requiring continuous surveillance and resolution.  Host countries, multinationals, and consumers are all victims of piracy.”
    The article then, instead of suggesting that businesses should fight for stronger legal means of IPR protection, assumes that businesses still want to enter the Chinese market and, hence, explains ways for businesses to combat piracy through their own means.  Ten strategies are listed including the Budweiser strategy (technical solutions), the partnership strategy (contractual surveillance), the Coca-Cola strategy (narrowing price gaps), the Microsoft strategy (monitoring and private-eye), the commercial settlement strategy, the acquiring strategy, the DuPont strategy (reapplication), the MU strategy (communicating with aggrieved firms), the government hand strategy, and consumer campaigns.
    Although this article presents an extremely biased look at intellectual property rights and does little to provide insight into causes or reasons for strong or weak IPR’s, it presents a very important statement just by its existence.  This important point is that large multinational corporations have both the incentive and the means to enter the Chinese market despite a relatively weak IPR regime.  This indicates that a weak IPR regime is not necessarily detrimental to foreign investment and therefore a gradual implementation of international IPR standards is feasible.

Xiaobai,S . "A dilemma for developing countries in intellectual property strategy? Lessons from a case study of software piracy and Microsoft in China" Science & public policy [0302-3427] 32.3 (2005). 187-198.

 

    This article poses two important questions; Will businesses and countries invest in the economies of developing countries if these developing countries do not enforce intellectual property rights on the same standards of developed countries?  And, if the current situation of increasing the strength of intellectual property rights in developing countries continues, will these developing countries be able to compete in a world of IPR harmonization?
    The article poses an initial answer to these questions by citing empirical studies that suggest developing countries develop best with weak IPR regimes and that only as these countries become more developed should they enforce stricter regimes.  Examples of countries that have enacted stronger IPR regimes as their economies developed are East Asian counties including Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, and notably the United States.  Yet, what the empirical evidence lacks, according to this article, is a timetable for deciding when a country is developed enough to implement a strong IPR regime.  To understand the situation further, the article turns to a study of Microsoft software in China.
    In this study, the article first gives an overview explaining how prevalent piracy is in China.  The article then shows that despite this piracy, Microsoft has entered the Chinese market with great difficulties.  Piracy of Microsoft products subsequently increased and contrary to logic, this led Microsoft to further invest in China in an attempt to promote legal usage of Microsoft products.  This further investment was presumably because Microsoft sees China as the largest potential market in the world.
    This study then shows that, contrary to some scholars’ beliefs, a weak IPR regime can lead to an increased investment in developing countries.  However, this is counterbalanced by the belief that an investment of high-tech products does not allow the developing country to discover its own technologies/products/ideas.
    This article, although slightly redundant with other sources, is crucial to backing the project's thesis that developing countries and especially China are best advised to take a gradual approach to implementing strong IPR regimes.  The article also fully supports the argument that China is best suited to a gradual increase in its IPR protection in that the article presents a case study showing that foreign investment in China will still occur despite its weaker IPR protection than developed nations.

Linek,E . "International Efforts Are Achieving Credible IP Enforcement Even Amid Chronic Abuse" Intellectual property & technology law journal [1534-3618] 18.3 (2006). 4-7.

 

   This article is short and poses little insight into the situation of intellectual property rights in China, yet it does provide valuable statistics about the levels of piracy in China. The statistics present an optimistic view of the situation by stating the increased number of criminal prosecutions for IPR violations; however, the statistics leave out the pessimistic view that the number of violations are possibly rising and that could explain the increase in prosecutions.
    Yet, despite the lack of in-depth analysis provided, this article hints at some of the basic themes of more insightful works. Examples of these are that China has historical traditions that impede its compliance with international standards of intellectual copyright protection and that China has too many administrative bureaucracies to effectively enforce IPR. The article also presents an interesting view that unfortunately has no support: an assertion that because China has joined the WTO, its institutions will adapt in a positive manner.
    The statistics in this article include the numbers of criminal prosecutions in China for IPR infringement and estimates of the amount of money lost by US businesses because of piracy. Also, there is a comparison over time of changes in these statistics. These numbers, although vague, can be used to present a case with nearly any goal in mind and, therefore, are valuable in research about IPR in China.
    The last important aspect of this article is that it places China in the context of the larger developing world. It points out that China represents the single largest market (in numbers of people) in the world, and because it is considered to have a developing economy, China plays a large role in determining the stance of other developing economies. This is an important message and illuminates the significance of understanding the IPR situation in China and, therefore, the significance of China taking a gradual approach to strengthening its IPRs in a broader, global sense.

Intellectual property and development : lessons from recent economic research / edited by Carsten Fink and Keith E. Maskus. [0821357727 (pbk.) ] Washington, DC : A copublication of the World Bank and Oxford University Press, New York, c2005.
Call#: Van Pelt Library K1401 .I5528 2005

 

   This book, which is a compilation of essays, constitutes an in depth economic analysis of how intellectual property rights effect development within an economy. The final essay focuses on China and is entitled “Intellectual Property Rights and Economic Development in China.” The essay is well written, and the economic concepts are simply described.
   The essay discusses the growth of China’s economy through an economic analysis of intellectual property rights and how they affect business and investment. The first half of the essay presents the standard economic theory for strengthening intellectual property rights in developing economies and reviews the benefits derived from strict enforcement of intellectual property rights. However, this review is balanced by a discussion of reasons why the government of a developing economy would not want to enact strict enforcement of IPRs.
   The second half of the essay deals specifically with China. The authors, Maskus, Dougherty, and Mertha use three sections to prove that China is making significant progress in strengthening IPR enforcement, but the point out that China also has a number of problems that must be addressed before it can reach an acceptable state of IPR protection. The first of these sections is a discussion of interviews held with lawyers, scholars, businessmen, and policy makers in China. The next section evaluates statistics on trademarks and patents in China. The final section looks at “data on technology development and inputs, along with some estimated effects on Chinese industrial productivity.” The authors conclude that

"Overall, our analysis suggests that the IPR situation for invention and innovation is improving in China but that there are still significant problems associated with inadequate enforcement, regional income differences, insufficient incentives for commercialization of the results of R&D, and relatively low levels of research effort."

This essay is extremely helpful in determining the state of IPRs in China through the lens of economics although it presents the material in a way that is biased toward the assumption that all developing economies should have strong IPRs. Therefore, this book comprises an important opposition to the thesis of gradual improvement in China's IPRs but provides valuable reasons why a developing country would want a weaker IPR regime, which hence supports the assertion for China’s gradual development.