China plans to double penalties for copyright infringement

In April, the U.S. Trade Representative's office published its annual "priority watch list" of countries with the worst reputation regarding the prevention of theft of copyright protected material. China is put on top of the list for the eight consecutive time and is subject to a special monitor program since 1990.  The list is intended to shame governments and encourage them to change their copyright laws.

Although the Chinese have had a poor reputation on the protection of intellectual property for numerous years, it has to be noted that things are gradually improving. At the moment, copyright legislation in the People's Republic is under review. Western criticism often points to underdeveloped enforcement policy in China. The Chinese show that they take this feedback seriously and have strengthened their approach in the past few years.

This trend is now also visible in the legislative process. In a draft version of the new copyright law, the National Copyright Administration raised the penalties for copyright infringement up to 1 million yuan, which amounts $158,000.  This is comparable to the penalties in the U.S.. Interestingly, this case reveils clearly that it is easier said than done for the Chinese to accomodate policies to Western feedback: As soon as the draft law with more stringent enforcement mandate was published, new criticism has been directed to them, warning that fines may become disproportionately high for the average citizen in China, where income levels are considerably lower than in, for example, the U.S.

It is clear that there is still a long way to go before both ends meet. But, in any event, in the field of Chinese IP law, things are changing fast.

To read more reports on IP developments in China, click here

Sources: techdirt, Reuters, China Daily