China’s intellectual property rights provocation: A political economy view

Shaomin Li and Ilan Alon
Publication Date: 
March 1st, 2020

Regarding the wellspring of intellectual property rights (IPR) violations in China, there are two competing perspectives, natural evolution and the rule of law. Both perspectives fail to take into account the impact that China’s party-state has on IPR protection. Adopting a political economy perspective, this article emphasizes the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s desire to preserve its monopoly of power and contends China has benefited from a rule through law mechanism, which creates unfair advantages for its companies, which are often government controlled. It also highlights the ongoing tension between maintaining the CCP’s rule and protecting IPR through truly independent courts.

*****This publication originally appeared in Journal of International Business Policy, Vol. 3, No. 4 (March 2020), pp. 60-72. A PDF version is available at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s42214-019-00032-x. Copyright remains with the original holders.