Intellectual Property (IP) protection in China

Intellectual property protection is a recurring concern for businesses operating in China. Since joining the World Trade Organisation, the Chinese Government has been working to enforce IP protection laws, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

There are, however, a number of things that you can do to ensure that your IP is protected when doing business in China. The International Trade China Desk has produced the discussion paper Intellectual Property Protection in China, which outlines:

• the procedures to register a patent or Trade Mark
• the process and penalties for IP infringement, and how to enforce your rights
• some pro-active measures to avoid IP infringement
• patent and TradeMark application agencies throughout China
• the schedule of fees for applications.

For more detailed information and advice about IP protection in China, or any other area of doing business in China, contact us.