China and International Intellectual Property Law

Abstract

International intellectual property (IP) law is a legal framework constructed from international organizations to enhance collaborations of countries around the world in IP protection. The primary sources of international IP law are international treaties which coordinate respective domestic law of states. Furthermore, as primary actors in this state-centric framework, states practice continues to influence the development of international IP law. Over the past few decades, with the sustained growth of China’s foreign trade, the interactions between China and international IP law have been under vigorous development. Since 1980s, China has acceded to the major international conventions relating to IP rights. To fulfill international obligations, China continues to update its domestic intellectual property laws and improve its intellectual property protection mechanisms. Meanwhile, it gradually realizes the importance of participation in international law-making, and actively attempts to shape global norms on IP protection for the interests of developing countries. The contemporary academic research in this field endeavors to satisfy two goals: (1) to ensure that new and revised laws can comply with international rules and norms, which rely upon academic observations and interpretations in international IP law; (2) to explore international IP legal propositions in the Chinese context and find appropriate approaches to translate them into concrete practices. This work reviews existing literature written in Chinese and English languages, and identifies China’s efforts and contributions in the development, interpretation, application, and enforcement of international IP law. Considering the fragmentation and diversification of international IP law, after a general introduction, the topic issue will be addressed from four areas: (1) China and Fundamental Principles of International IP Law, (2) China and International Organizations for IP Protection, (3) China and International Minimum Standards for IP Protection, (4) China and International Service for IP Protection.