By Richard W. Wigley of King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group

Today in China, in conjunction with World IP Day 2011, numerous governmental agencies will actively begin a week-long promotion of the role of intellectual property in the nation’s economy, according to Han Xiucheng of the State Intellectual Property Office (“SIPO”)¹. Such efforts are to be lauded, but it is well known that copyright piracy rates in China are still significantly higher (80-90+%, depending on the type of work) than those seen in developed countries, such as the United States. Copyright piracy results from a combination of factors, including not only the effectiveness of the enforcement regime, but also from consumers’ attitudes toward pirated works. There has been a shift in recent years in China away from pirated works and toward legitimate works, but this shift has been slow due to a variety of reasons. Into this dynamic, it is valuable to look at some of the most recent efforts of the P.R.C. government to reduce copyright piracy across China.Continue Reading World IP Day 2011 in China Shows Progress in Copyright Protection, though Challenges Remain