China IPR protection faces enforcement conundrum
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-04-30 22:36
While China has generated a huge number of statistics during the past couple
of weeks to demonstrate its achievements in fighting violations of intellectual
property rights, fake fashions and pirated DVDs are still being openly sold
throughout this city.
Typical is a DVD shop set up in a main-floor suite of an apartment complex
which even has a flashing neon DVD sign in the window. Standing in front of a
rack of the latest U.S. blockbusters the owner is ready and willing to convert
to selling the real thing. "We don't want to keep on selling 'daoban' ('outlaw'
copies). We'll be happy to sell the legal copies and charge whatever they want."
he says.
The customer looking over the nicely packaged DVDs that sell for about 90
U.S. cents joins the discussion. "I'd pay more if it made things right and it
meant I got better quality."
Mark A. Cohen, intellectual property attache of the U.S. Embassy to Beijing
says that's the crux of the situation. "What really matters is to have markets
developing legitimate goods; people buy legitimate goods and revenues going up
for industry," he said.
To really reach its goal, Cohen said that China could ease its enforcement
burden by taking non-enforcement measures such as opening its market and
speeding up market access.
"If you have more motion pictures coming into movie theaters, you will reduce
some of the piracy and have more revenue. Putting money into anti-piracy isn't
necessarily giving you more revenue. Having a bigger market will do it," said
Cohen in an interview with Xinhua.
Meanwhile he says China has made some very good moves. "I am happy to see
increased cases (of enforcement), that's an example of more transparency.
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