Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement in China and India Still Requires Improvement
China and India have room for improvement in intellectual property (IP) rights enforcement, though China demonstrates progress, said Teresa Rea, deputy director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) before the House IP Subcommittee Wednesday.
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Worldwide patent systems cannot claim the same emphasis on fairness as the patent system in the U.S., said Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas. “Those foreign countries not only violate their international commitments but also make a significant negative economic impact to the U.S. economy.” Although countries desire job growth and vibrant economies, cultural and legal system differences create challenges in IP rights enforcement, Rea said.
China’s inexperience and judicial system make intellectual property rights enforcement difficult in that country, Rea said. “China’s legal system in respect to IP has not had the years of experience our country has had.” The PTO’s Global Intellectual Property Academy recently offered an IP training program that 1,000 people attended in Beijing for members of China’s judiciary system, Rea said. PTO attaché involvement and increasing Chinese patents and innovation can “change their system not just to the benefit of U.S. innovators, but also China’s innovators,” Rea said. As China’s patent office, courts, trademark law and patent law undergo dramatic change, the PTO is discussing with China changes the office would like to see, Rea said. China has “made substantive changes to their draft trademark law based on input they have received from the United States and perhaps other countries,” she said.
Compulsory licensing creates difficulties for enforcing IP rights in India, said Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. India and other countries have used “the threat of a compulsory license as a negotiating strategy to those American companies that manufacture or license their products to local companies at government mandated prices,” he said. The PTO addresses India’s compulsory licensing by encouraging it to not grant unwarranted compulsory licenses, Rea said. Reverse engineering of pharmaceuticals is discouraged by the time requirement and process complexity, she said. “From the USPTO perspective, education, IP awareness, teaming with them, constantly being around -- that’s the best weapon we have,” she said. They “want to be a good player in the international community.” Education efforts, however, have been unsuccessful so far, she said. Rea said that bringing a case to the World Trade Organization should be added to the PTO’s “tool kit” for addressing compulsory licensing worldwide.