Why China will follow Korea to the ITC

01 July 2010

Korean companies have traditionally been defendants in cases before the US International Trade Commission. Now they are likely to be plaintiffs. Alexander Koff considers whether Chinese businesses can make the same transition

When talking recently about IP rights and China, a friend said: "Don't take life too seriously – you will never get out of it alive." That's a cute comment. Although IP rights remain an important topic, she raises a good point. Sometimes looking at an issue from a different perspective helps. Using this advice, this article looks at the controversial issue of China and IP rights from a different perspective. Based on experiences in Uganda and Korea, it asks whether Korea's IP experience is applicable to China. It identifies how successful Korean companies valued IP and why they were successful. Noting similarities to China today, it predicts ultimately that, as China develops, there will be a greater respect for IP rights and an increase in Chinese Section 337 filings at the International Trade Commission (see Box 1) – with Chinese companies bringing as well as defending the cases....

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