China’s Free Trade Agreement approach to intellectual property: The future of China’s rules under the Belt and Road Initiative [in Chinese]

• Main Authors: WANG, Heng, XIAO, Zhenyu
• Format: text
• Language: Chinese
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
• Subjects: Asian Studies; International Trade Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4465; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/6423/viewcontent/ChinasFTAApproachtoIntellectualProperty_ChinasRulesunderBRI.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Intellectual property rules have played an increasingly important role in international trade. Due to the problem in multilateral negotiations, free trade agreements (FTAs) of the US and EU may profoundly shape the future of world intellectual property law. The article analyses the following questions: what are the Chinese, US and EU approach to intellectual property under FTAs? Will China develop its own FTA model on intellectual property? On the one hand, the US and EU have developed their FTA model and is featured with WTO-plus obligations and stringent enforcement. They largely converge despite differences in areas such as geographical indications. On the other hand, China has not developed its own FTA model on intellectual property, and largely follows the WTO norms. China may consider its own model. This requires a careful balance between right protection and public interest, and between legal transplant and rule innovation.