Mei Ying Gechlik on China's Intellectual Property Rights Balancing Act
Protection of intellectual property rights has become increasingly important since China’s admission to the WTO, reports Mei Ying Gechlik of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Foreign companies should trust the Chinese judicial system to protect their patent rights. Mechanisms such as judicial review have proven successful in appealing decisions of the Patent Reexamination Board. China operates a “first-to-file” instead of a “first-to-invent” system, however, so early patent registration is necessary to ensure widespread protection. To further improve the protection of intellectual property rights in Chinese courts, Peking must promise to publicize all cases concerning patent rights and to supply more resources to patent law enforcement agencies.
