Evolution of the Chinese Intellectual Property Rights System: IPR Law Revisions and Enforcement

Abstract

ABSTRACT Since the first Trademark Law was enacted in China in 1982, the Chinese intellectual property rights (IPR) system has undergone significant changes in both the design of the legislation and its enforcement. In this article, we analyze the evolution of IPR legislation and enforcement in China. To this end, we illustrate the evolutionary changes of the Chinese IPR system and analyze the changes introduced in four revisions (1992–1993, 2000–2001, 2008–2013, and 2019–2020). Our analysis shows that Patent Law, Trademark Law, and Copyright Law have been substantially enhanced, especially since 2000, when China improved its IPR system to comply with the TRIPS Agreement and join the WTO, and especially the most recent amendments of these three IP Laws. We discuss the number of IPR infringement cases handled by both relevant administrative authorities and courts to analyze IPR enforcement in China. Results indicate that the development of IPR protection enforcement followed the improvement of relevant IPR laws. The two revisions introduced after 2008, changes in the Chinese IPR system, and an increasing number of IPR infringement cases handled by relevant authorities also suggest the willingness of the Chinese government to further enhance its IPR protection. 摘要 自 1982 年中国颁布第一部商标法以来，中国的知识产权体系在立法和执法方面都发生了重大变化。在本文中，我们分析了中国知识产权立法和执法的演变。为此，我们介绍了中国知识产权体系的演进变化，并分析了四个修订版（1992-1993、2000-2001、2008-2013和2019-2020）中引入的变化。我们的分析表明，特别是自 2000 年中国完善知识产权体系以遵守 TRIPS 协议并加入 WTO 以来，专利法、商标法和著作权法对于知识产权的保护力度均得到了实质性增强，尤其是最近对这三部知识产权法的修订。我们讨论了相关行政部门和法院处理的知识产权侵权案件数量，以分析中国的知识产权执法情况。结果表明，知识产权保护执法的发展伴随着相关知识产权法律的完善。 2008年之后的两次修订、中国知识产权体系的变化以及有关部门处理的知识产权侵权案件数量的增加，也表明了中国政府进一步加强知识产权保护的意愿。