The Chinese government was criticised last week by two
US business groups which are urging China to crack down on its
growing piracy market and focus on the protection of intellectual
property rights.
Despite laws and international agreements protecting
intellectual property rights, an lack of political will within
China to enforce those rules is allowing piracy to rapidly expand,
according to a white paper published in Beijing by the American
Chamber of Commerce People’s Republic of China (AmCham-China) and
American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai (AmCham-Shanghai).
The lack of patent and copyright protection is also hurting
high-tech investment in the vast Chinese market, the group
said.
More than three-quarters of AmCham members surveyed for the
group's sixth annual White Paper on American business in China said
they were negatively affected by the infringement of intellectual
property rights, with over 90% of respondents saying they see
"virtually no enforcement" of intellectual property rights.
The group called for fines to be replaced by harsher criminal
penalties for product piracy.
China has a growing reputation as a country which tolerateds
some of the highest piracy rates in the world. In July, a report
issued by the Business Software Alliance estimated that 92% of
software used in China during 2003 was unlicensed and illegal.
AmCham-China, based in Beijing, says it currently has 1,800
individual members representing more than 800 US companies doing
business in China. The white paper's results are based on anonymous
survey responses from 238 companies, the group said.
The study also highlighted a belief within the American business
community that China is actively restricting trade between the two
countries through the use of its technology standards.
According to the white paper, 50% of high technology companies
surveyed said that standards and certification procedures are being
used as legal, non-tariff barriers.
Over the next year, the group plans to closely monitor the
Chinese government's use of technology standards as it relates to
US companies attempting to conduct business in the country, said
AmCham-China Chairman and a Motorola executive Jim Gradoville.
In its report, the US business group praised China for its
efforts over the past year to adhere to its World Trade
Organisation commitments with regulation on trading rights,
insurance, auto finance and agriculture.
But it warned that such efforts to improve the environment for
American business in China could be overwhelmed by the lack of
enforcement of intellectual property rights.
US lawmakers came in for criticism as well, with AmCham-China
and AmCham-Shanghai pointing to a difficult and restrictive US visa
application process that is costing US businesses billions of
dollars a year.
Laura Rohde writes for IDG News Service