The call to action was triggered by a new EU analysis on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in non-EU countries. Based on the investigation of 2016, the European Commission has identified the People’s Republic of China as the country with the largest deficits in IP protection.
As a reason for this assessment, the EU Commission notes long-ongoing problems in the introduction and implementation of comprehensive laws for protecting intellectual property. Another crucial factor is that in 2016, with more than 80%, the clear majority of counterfeit goods seized at EU borders came from China or the Chinese special administrative region of Hong Kong.
Taking a closer look, the EU Commission praises some of the measures taken by the Chinese government in the past. However, these seem to fall short of tackling the counterfeiting issues in the country. “The measures taken by the Chinese government […] against counterfeiting activities, while commendable, do not seem to have kept pace with new technologies and the scale of infringements. Online counterfeiting and piracy have substantially aggravated the scope and dimension of China’s enforcement problem.”
In particular, the EU criticizes cumbersome regulatory and enforcement procedures in China as well as a lack of cooperation between the country’s various administrative and law enforcement authorities. This also relates to the fact that, although large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have sufficient standards of IP protection, other regions of the country suffer from a lack of expertise and from corruption. Both factors often prevent comprehensive IP protection.
The experts of the European Commission also see clear deficits in the Chinese patent system. In addition, they oppose a variety of regulatory practices that appear to be aimed at putting foreign companies at a disadvantage, such as mandatory technology transfers or obligations to disclose business information upon entering the Chinese market.
“Intellectual property theft – such as counterfeiting and piracy – stifles innovation and erodes confidence with our trading partners. This is a particular problem in China, which still accounts for the vast majority of seized counterfeit and pirated goods,” explains EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom.
Apart from China, the European Commission also sees considerable deficits regarding IP protection in countries such as Argentina, India, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey, and the Ukraine.
In order to gather more information on IP protection in third countries, the EU Commission recently announced a worldwide anti-piracy watch list. Business representatives can contribute their experience and report suspicious marketplaces until 16 April 2018.
