Intellectual Property in the Global Trading System: EU-China Perspective

333 Pages·2008·2.775 MB·English

by  Dr. Wei Shi (auth.)

Intellectual Property in the Global Trading System
Wei Shi
Intellectual Property in the
Global Trading System
EU-China Perspective
Dr. Wei Shi
Lecturer in Law
School of Law
Bangor University
Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG
United Kingdom
[email protected]
ISBN:978-3-540-77736-6 e-ISBN:978-3-540-77737-3
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2008930797
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Preface
This book is an expanded and revised version of my thesis, submitted for the
Ph.D degree in October 2006 at the University of Cambridge. It has been an
honour and joy to work with many individuals, both inside and outside the
university town, who made this book possible.
First and foremost, my most sincere appreciation goes to my PhD supervi-
sor, mentor and friend Nick Sinclair-Brown for his careful, insightful and effi-
cient supervision during my doctoral studies in Cambridge. Without his gen-
erous and indispensable help neither the conduct of the Ph.D. study nor the ac-
complishment of the book would have been possible. The design and plan of
the doctoral work were wholly due to him. I still remembered the day when he
met me at the Finlay Library of the Lauterpacht Centre, for there I received
first encouragement to study this challenging topic, an encouragement pro-
vided by generous interest and support of Nick. Over the following years, his
outlook and confidence in my work gave me much inspiration, and his pene-
trating comments contributed enormously to the production of my thesis. I ap-
preciate his wisdom, vigilance and sense of humour, without which I would
have been either flattered or perplexed on numerous occasions. I have been
deeply grateful that, during his heavy cancer treatment in Brussels, he still
managed to read through my thesis and offered me detailed feedback and
comments. Unfortunately, Nick passed away after fighting the illness with his
bravery and morality without seeing the completion of my dissertation and my
book in which he had invested much time and energy.
I must also express my particular thanks to my supervisor, mentor and
friend Dr. Robert Weatherley for his timely and effective guidance at the late
stage of my work. Dr. Weatherley had been fully supportive of my work from
the moment we had the first meeting and encouraged me to develop the thesis
further into a book. As a leading China expert, his discussions with me con-
cerning the role of China in its transitional period and its impact on global
trade helped expand my perspectives. I have learned much from him, particu-
larly in understanding the inherent complexities at the interface of law, politics
and history.
I would also express my heartfelt thanks to my Ph.D. examiner Dr. Nick
Foster, who graciously offered me his stimulating comments and thought-
provoking observations on various portions of my thesis. His insightful per-
VI Preface
spectives, particularly on comparative law and legal transplants, offered me a
constant source of inspiration, reflection and affirmation.
Special thanks also belong to my fellow mentors at the Centre of Interna-
tional Studies and the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of
Cambridge, where students are nourished not only by theory but also by spirit.
I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Christopher Hill, Professor
James Crawford, Dr. Charles Jones, Dr. Philip Towle, Dr. Brendan Simms,
Mr. John Forsyth and Dr. Shogo Suzuki for their different forms of support.
My deepest thanks are also given to my College – St John’s, which pro-
vides me a cosy home and favourable guidance. Living and working for more
than five years at St John’s, a “so pretty and picturesque” College that the
Queen Victoria admired, has been an inspirational and unforgettable experi-
ence. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my College Tutors Dr. Sue Colwell,
Dr. Maire Ni Mhaonaigh and Dr. Victoria Best for their care and a sense of
proportion. I should also thank the College library and its helpful staff. It was
in the library that I spent most of my stressful but enjoyable working time dur-
ing my doctorate study in Cambridge.
I would also like to mention Professor Pierre Klein of Centre de Droit In-
ternational, ULB, Brussels, for his generous help during my field trip to Brus-
sels. I would also like to thank Mr. Christopher De Vroey at DG Trade, Euro-
pean Commission, for offering me firsthand knowledge of EU-China Trade
Relations and Intellectual Property and his comments on my project. Thanks
should also be given to Dr. Amanda Perry for her fascinating ideas on the sur-
vey infrastructure. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mr. Yong Zhu
at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Wuwei Jin at the Legisla-
tive Affair Office of the State Council, for providing me helpful research ma-
terials.
A special debt of gratitude is owed to Professor Robert Gordon and his
family who have committed their time, passion and love over the past years
during my time in Cambridge. Without their sustaining support, I would cer-
tainly have stagnated at some point.
Mention should also be made to my friends Boping Yuan, Jianbo Lou,
Kyuseok Moon, Alex Broadbent, Beth Bower, and Wengang Weng who lent
emotional support and shared their knowledge with me over the years, particu-
larly during my times of struggle.
I thank Bangor University Law School for a world of hope, encouragement
and wisdom. I am grateful for Thomas Watkin, Howard Johnson, Dermot Ca-
hill, Aled Griffiths and other distinguished colleagues who placed much con-
fidence in me and offered me much support in finalising this book.
I would also like to express my deep appreciation to Ms Brigitte Reschke
and Ms Manuela Ebert of Springer for their high degree of confidence and pa-
tience, and their continuous support during various stages of the publication
process. Their consideration, determination and great expertise have helped
me improve the manuscript of this book considerably.
Preface VII
My very special appreciation goes to my parents Shengyun Shi and Xinru
Liang, my wife Aihua, my son Xiaotian, as well as my brothers and sisters
who have given me endless love and tireless support. My parents, who had
taught in different schools for over thirty years before their retirement, have
given me as much as they can. I have been thankful to my parents for inherit-
ing some of my father’s faith and some of my mother’s scepticism and I have
tried to reconcile and integrated the two in my lifelong experiences. I owe a
particular debt to my elderly parents for not being able to look after them in a
time when they did need caring. I am grateful for the sacrifice of my wife who
quitted her government position in China and endeavoured to manage the
home in Cambridge; I have to thank my fabulous son for tolerating me to tap
into his innocence of his young life, despite his consecutive good grades in his
schools.
Finally, and by no means last, the financial contributions from St John’s
College, Cambridge Overseas Trust, and the China Scholarship Council are
gratefully acknowledged.
February 2008 Wei Shi
Table of Contents
1 Introduction........................................................................................................1
1.1 The Context within which this Book is Located............................................1
1.1.1 Areas of Generic Tension.....................................................................1
1.1.2 Legal Transplants in a Multicultural World.........................................2
1.1.3 A Nexus of World Trade and Intellectual Property..............................3
1.2 Location of Topic within this Context...........................................................4
1.2.1 Focus on China.....................................................................................4
1.2.2 Focus on Enforcement..........................................................................5
1.2.3 What is at Stake....................................................................................6
1.3 Objectives......................................................................................................8
1.3.1 EU-China Interaction in Normative Integration...................................8
1.3.2 The Creation of the Six-Step Approach...............................................9
1.3.3 Significance of this Book...................................................................10
1.4 Research Methodology.................................................................................14
1.4.1 Research Strategy...............................................................................14
1.4.2 Research Sources................................................................................18
1.4.3 Chapter Outline..................................................................................21
2 The Justification for IPR Protection...............................................................23
2.1 Intellectual Property and Economic Growth – An Economic Analysis.......24
2.1.1 An Outlook on Theory of Economics and Law..................................25
2.1.2 IPR: Incentive for Innovation?...........................................................26
2.1.3 IPR: Stimulator of Trade Flow?.........................................................32
2.1.4 IPR: Engine of Technology Transfer?................................................34
2.1.5 The Optimal Level of Protection........................................................38
2.2 IPR and WTO Agreement – A Legal Analysis............................................43
2.2.1 The Legal Concepts of IPR................................................................43
2.2.2 The International Architecture of Protection......................................44
2.2.3 The “Transplant” of TRIPs: A Comparative Law Perspective...........48
2.3 IPR and Development Policy – A Political Analysis...................................55
2.3.1 Ideology of IPR Protection.................................................................55
2.3.2 Development-related Aspects for IPR (DRIPs)..................................56
2.3.3 Diplomacy in the IPR Protection........................................................60
2.4 Conclusion...................................................................................................65
X Table of Contents
3 China’s Response to the Multilateral Context of TRIPs...............................67
3.1 Tortuous Journey towards WTO Membership.............................................67
3.2 Implementation............................................................................................70
3.2.1 Law Reform Programme....................................................................70
3.2.2 Emergence of the Intellectual Property Regime.................................73
3.2.3 Legal Reform Evaluation...................................................................84
3.3 Enforcement Shortcomings..........................................................................87
3.3.1 Cultural Perspective...........................................................................88
3.3.2 Institutional Perspective.....................................................................94
3.3.3 Economic Perspective......................................................................103
3.4 Conclusion.................................................................................................105
4 Cultural Perplexity in Intellectual Property:
How to Undo the Gordian Knot ..................................................................107
4.1 Focusing Accurately on the Targeted Problems........................................109
4.1.1 Confucius Confusion: Is Stealing a Book an Elegant Offence?.......109
4.1.2 New Cultural Perspective.................................................................116
4.1.3 Insight into the Economic Spectrum................................................126
4.2 Experience of Japan...................................................................................131
4.2.1 Analysis of Japan’s IP Law and Policy............................................132
4.2.2 Confucian Values and the Intellectual Creation...............................134
4.2.3 Tolerant IPR Policy and the Economic Blooming Up......................135
4.3 Experience of Korea..................................................................................137
4.3.1 “Eastern Decorum” and Economic Miracle.....................................137
4.3.2 From “Breaking” to “Preaching”: Role Shift in IPR Protection.......140
4.3.3 Preliminary Reflections....................................................................142
4.4 China’s Enforcement Problem: Clues to the Perennial Conundrum..........145
4.4.1 Fostering a Shift in China from Rule by Law to Rule of Law.........145
4.4.2 Facilitating the Conversion of China from an “IP Imitation”
to an “IP Creation” Nation...............................................................147
4.4.3 Promoting Transformation of China from Perceived Infringer
to Unfortunate Victim......................................................................151
4.5 Conclusion.................................................................................................152
4.5.1 Economic Insufficiency as the Striking Point..................................152
4.5.2 The Paradox of Cultural Determinism.............................................152
4.5.3 Transitional Dilemma: When Utilitarianism Meets IPR..................155
5 EU-China Interaction in Normative Integration.........................................157
5.1 Introduction................................................................................................158
5.2 Matrix of Concerns within Integrations.....................................................159
5.2.1 EU Integration and its Impact upon China.......................................159
5.2.2 China’s Integration and its Impact on the EU..................................164
5.2.3 Same Hierarchy, Different Dimension.............................................166
5.3 IPR Enforcement Antitheses......................................................................167
5.3.1 IPR Enforcement in the EU..............................................................167
5.3.2 IPR Enforcement in China...............................................................172
Table of Contents XI
5.3.3 Implications of EU Action Plan towards China...............................181
5.4 Outstanding Issues towards Utilising Flexibilities.....................................183
5.4.1 Exhaustion of Rights: Article 6 of TRIPs and Parallel Imports........185
5.4.2 Compulsory Licensing: Daylight Robbery or Timely Help?............194
5.4.3 Fair Use of Copyright: Where is the Bottom Line?..........................201
5.5 Conclusion.................................................................................................209
6 Harmony or Coercion? EU-China Trade Relations and IPR.....................211
6.1 Modalities of Trade Relations....................................................................212
6.1.1 Theoretical Dimensions....................................................................214
6.1.2 Overview of Trade Relations............................................................216
6.1.3 Pending Challenges..........................................................................220
6.2 Comparative Analysis: Sino-U.S. Negotiations.........................................222
6.2.1 America’s Concerns.........................................................................223
6.2.2 China’s Response.............................................................................224
6.2.3 Lessons to be Learned......................................................................225
6.3 EU-China IPR Negotiations.......................................................................226
6.3.1 Characteristics of EU-China IPR......................................................227
6.3.2 Framework of EU-China IPR...........................................................235
6.3.3 Roles of Non-Governmental Organisations.....................................245
6.4 Feasible Approaches: Negotiation Strategies.............................................247
6.4.1 Cultural Characteristics in Commercial Negotiations......................247
6.4.2 TPR: Settling Dispute with Gentleness............................................250
6.4.3 DSB: Additional Form of Leverage.................................................256
6.5 Six-Step Strategy........................................................................................260
6.5.1 Step One: Leniency rather than Coercion.........................................261
6.5.2 Step Two: From “Tying Practice” to Undiscounted Policy..............264
6.5.3 Step Three: “Casting a Long Line to Catch a Big Fish” Instead
of “Killing the Goose that Lays Golden Eggs”................................266
6.5.4 Step Four: From “Massive Offensive” to “Defeat in Detail”:
Establish the IP Special Regions and IP Special Industries.............268
6.5.5 Step Five: From “Pierre Cardin” to “Hisense”:
Promote the Role Conversion..........................................................273
6.5.6 Step Six: From Freerider to Stakeholder:
When Beijing Embraces the Olympics............................................277
6.6 Conclusion.................................................................................................280
6.6.1 US-China IPR Debate: A Cat-and-Mouse Game.............................280
6.6.2 EU’s “Six-Step Strategy”.................................................................280
6.6.3 Prospective Trend: Smooth Sailing or Choppy Waves?...................281
7 Conclusion.......................................................................................................283
Intellectual Property in World Trade: Justification and Harmonisation...........283
Intellectual Property in World Trade: Development and Enforcement............284
Intellectual Property in World Trade: Integration and Cooperation.................285
XII Table of Contents
Appendix............................................................................................................287
Sample for Questions around which Interviews are Conducted....................287
Sample for Questions in Semi-Structured Interviews....................................288
List of Charts.................................................................................................290
Selected Bibliography.......................................................................................295
Index...................................................................................................................315