As a major market and manufacturing center, China has emerged as one of the top filing destinations for inovia‘s clients. Although IP laws in China have improved in recent years, enforcement of IP rights remains a constant concern for applicants filing (or considering to file) into China.
A May Bloomberg Businessweek article outlined some helpful tips for protecting your IP in China. Here’s a quick recap:
- Curb the motivation for theft
- Reduce your competitors’ ability to steal your IP; and
- Minimize the residual damage
The article further discusses specific examples of how to execute each point.
Obviously, there is much room for improvement in China’s intellectual property laws, but the steps they have taken already and the international pressure being exerted on them to change are encouraging signs. After all, a patent lasts for 20 years, so your filing strategy for China should not be to look at its present state, but its future.
Are you filing into China? If so, what steps do you take to protect your IP there?
If you’re considering filing into China, you can get a free quote for PCT national stage entry when you register for the inovia portal.
On a related note…
The head of China’s State Intellectual Property Office responded to critics of China’s IP system at this week’s China International IP Forum.
Full article on ManagingIP.com –
link to managingip.com;
Did any of our readers attend?