Counterfeiting in the People's Republic of China

The counterfeiting of trademarks, brands, and other forms of intellectual property in the People's Republic of China ("PRC") is now the most serious counterfeiting problem in the history of the world and appears to be still on the rise. Estimates put the losses from counterfeiting suffered by trademark and brand owners doing business in China in the billions or even tens of billions of dollars per year. The unprecedented severity and magnitude of the counterfeiting problem raises a number of immediate questions. How did a problem of this magnitude arise, and what measures are being undertaken to improve the current situation? This Article examines counterfeiting in China, its origins, and problems in enforcement. It also provides some suggestions for alleviating the problem, and concludes with some observations about the future of counterfeiting in China. This examination is timely because of the seriousness of the problem, the increased attention given to counterfeiting, and China's on-going efforts to bring existing laws into conformity with the World Trade Organization's Agreement on the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property as part of the negotiations to bring China into the WTO.