As China continues to work toward a services/innovation
based economy, China has made several efforts to improve intellectual property
enforcement. Professor V.K. Unni of the
Indian Institute of Management of Calcutta has authored a short, concise and interesting paper concerning intellectual property courts and enforcement in
China, titled, Specialized Intellectual Property Enforcement in China: Implications for Indian Companies” in LiveLaw.in. Professor V.K. Unni notes that, in
addition to the IP specialized courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China
is creating “four new specialized IP Tribunals in Nanjing, Suzhou, Chengdu and
Wuhan.” He states that these tribunals
will have jurisdiction that is regional and will extend beyond city
limits. Notably, he speculates that
China may create a “national” appeals court similar to U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit. Professor V.K.
Unni also states that: “It has been reported that during 2015 in the 63 IP
disputes filed with the Beijing IP Court where foreigners were complainants,
all the cases were won by foreigners.”
Notably, this progress is followed by the recent decisions concerning
New Balance and Michael Jordan.
As reported by Bloomberg, China's Ministry of Commerce responded to Trump's action recently by stating that the U.S. should "cherish" its relationship with China and not harm the "business interests" of both countries' companies.
