Ever since China joined the WTO, much noise has been made about improving the state of IPR in the country. With piracy and counterfeits more of a norm than an exception, the anti-piracy efforts in China are being given priority. However, the US obviously thinks otherwise and the record trade deficits with China last year prompted the administration to launch a formal complaint against China in the WTO this April. China ‘is not scared about this’ and this along with several other statements was made by a senior Chinese IPR official on Thursday.
Director of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), Tian Lipu talked to the reporters on the sidelines of a Communist Party congress and said that the intellectual property issues should not be used as a political football. He stressed on Chinese efforts to sincerely deal with such issues and reiterated that the administration was pushing forward an effective IP legislation.
He argued that the IPR problem was being hyped-up and politicized and said that inability to deal with such issues was bound to hurt China more than any other nation. At the same time, however, he dropped a bombshell when he said that the battle against piracy could take ‘generations’ to solve.
Tian commented:
How long did it take developed countries? 300 years in the case of countries like Britain, or 200 years in the United States. One generation is not enough here. If you ask me, I estimate it will take three to five generations.
Nevertheless he also went on to say that there was considerable development in this area and more specifically in the case of patents. Tian stated that patent applications had increased at an average rate of 22.7 percent over the last five years.
The issue is likely to become a major snowball in the coming months in the US, all thanks to the fast approaching presidential polls. Tian’s statements, will no doubt, raise more than a few eyebrows in US lobbies.
