Anti-counterfeiting: The Law Now, in 2010 and Beyond

By Loke-Khoon Tan of Baker & McKenzie

Since China's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in December 2001, it has made significant reforms to its intellectual property (IP) laws and regulations to comply with the requirements of the WTO's Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Heavily-publicized international events, such as the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, the 2008 Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 are also putting China in the spotlight and will continue to exert pressure on China to improve its protection of IP rights.

China has begun to realize that a strong IP system is very important for its economic future. It has recognized that the protection of IP rights is vital to encourage foreign investment and to improve access to foreign markets for Chinese goods and services, and so has introduced reforms to satisfy TRIPS and its related commitments. However, counterfeiting currently remains a significant problem in China, which will persist to 2010 and beyond. Having said this, the situation is gradually improving and it must be kept in mind that China is still at a relatively early stage in its legal development of IP rights.