US Continues Pressure on IP Violations
Visiting US Commerce Secretary Don Evans continued to
pressure China on intellectual property violations of
US products. In a previous visit, Evans criticized the
Chinese government's weak enforcement of IP violations.
Evans said that Chinese violations of intellectual property
rights were having a detrimental effect on US workers.
"There needs to be much more efforts, much more
resources put into the protection of intellectual property
rights across the country," Evans told reporters
during a visit to a factory in a Beijing suburb.
The Chinese authorities needed to do more at the provincial
and city levels, he said, two months after Chinese Vice
Premier Wu Yi pledged during meetings with Evans in Washington
to intensify a crackdown on counterfeiting.
China's own State Council has estimated the market value
of counterfeit goods in China at about $19 billion to
$24 billion annually. The bogus trade affects a wide range
of U.S. products, including films, music, publishing,
software, pharmaceuticals, information technology and
automotive parts.
As the US has switched from a manufacturing based economy
to a service economy, it is much more sensitive to IP
violations than China currently is. However, some larger
Chinese firms are changing their attitudes by educating
their management.
In China, it is easier to enforce business deals made
with the central government than it is to enforce local
deals, which are less than US$30 million. Many local business
investments operate in a murky world in which government
support and enforcement are unclear in the event of a
dispute.
Some copiers of US and European products take great pride
in their fakes, claiming that is is impossible to differentiate
the original from the fake. This has created an awkward
situation for US and European makers; what do they do
with their Chinese pirates, stamp them out or partner
with them to make the real thing?
While no companies are willing to admit it, more than
a few choose to partner with the Chinese companies who
originally violated their intellectual property rights.
In some instances, it's just easier.
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