IP PROTECTION IN CHINA ’ S E-COMMERCE INDUSTRY
The unanimous assessment of the brand owners , trade association and IP lawyer interviewed for this white paper is that China ’ s major platforms have become far more proactive in protecting IP in recent years , and that brands and platforms have moved from an often-confrontational stance to one that is far more cooperative .
IP lawyer Bo Yu is a partner at LexField Law , and chairs INTA ’ s China sub-committee within its Anticounterfeiting Committee . Speaking on behalf of LexField Law , Bo Yu said brand owners operating in China know matters have improved – though those with no experience in China will likely be negatively influenced by news stories that talk about a lack of IP protection .
“ But if you talk to the big companies who have been operating and developing for the past years in China , they will probably have a different perspective – because they know that everyone ’ s working hard to address these issues , to improve on that .” are driven not by legal requirements to uphold IP , but by commercial reality . The law sets a useful baseline , but it is competition that incentivizes China ’ s leading platforms to do more .
That links to two related points : China ’ s middleclass has grown quickly over the past decade , with consumers becoming more discerning and possessing vastly increased spending power . A decade ago , many would have accepted knockoffs ; today , they want authentic products . In addition , scandals in recent years have raised concerns over the safety of products , driving a flight to quality – even in China ’ s smallest cities .
A RAFT OF IMPROVEMENTS Nora Zhang , Deputy Director , Business Environment & IP at the China-Britain Business Council ( CBBC ), highlighted the measures platforms have introduced ,
Indeed , many observers today feel China ’ s key e-commerce platforms are ahead of their peers elsewhere . There are a number of reasons why this is the case . Firstly , China ’ s e-commerce market is more competitive and fragmented than in the US , where Amazon dominates . That requires local firms to adopt proactive IP protection measures as they vie to attract brands and customers .
Further , China ’ s three main platforms recognize that combating counterfeits is central to sustainability – their users trust them to get this right . In that sense , these companies
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