Intellectual property protection related to technology in China

The state of protection for technology in China is widely criticized from the point of view of incompleteness of the legal system as a whole. Much research dwells on the gap between the Chinese legal system and that in industrialized countries or international agreements. In comparison with the developed countries, China lacks core technologies. While holders of such technologies encounter serious problems in China, the Chinese government is not in an enviable position either. Due to the internal impetus and external pressure on China to strengthen protection for technology, China has made a giant stride and made a substantial progress in legislation, enforcement and other areas. However, designing an appropriate system for technology protection is so complex that China will unavoidably face many challenges. The reforms to be carried out in China will be based on the balance between economic and political consideration. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.