The earliest forms of IP law in China may be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. In the late 1800’s patent letters were issued granting monopolies to certain businesses for specific activities. The protected authority these letters granted ranged from the selling of specific items, to providing specific services. In support of these patent letters the Qing Emperor promulgated a patent regulation in 1898. This regulation was the first modern IP law in China; but because China was so vast, and this idea of protecting intellectual property was entirely novel, the law was hardly enforceable.
Observing the success of others, China’s IP law continued to develop in the implementation of many foreign IP principals. At the turn of the 20
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century China’s doors were opening wider for foreigners and their direct investment in China’s Economy. A greater sense of legal security was needed to facilitate both foreign and native innovation, so China needed more definite legal standards that could be relied upon by investors and innovators. To help encourage this innovation the Qing Emperor promulgated “The Regulation of Trade Mark” in 1904. This literature was drafted by the Emperors Inspector-General of Customs Tariffs, Robert Hart, an Englishman whose understanding of English trademark law was extremely valuable and influential in the early development of China’s IP law.
In 1910, the Great Qing Copyright Law was issued, consisting of five chapters of general rules, and fifty five items on the definitions, scope, author’s rights, procedures in attainment, duration, and limits involved in copyrights. The principals included in this code were primarily derived from the German and Japanese observance of both economic and moral rights. Chinese regulators could see the positive fruits enjoyed by countries who observed such rights, and in the decades that followed, several more IP regulations were issued. Unfortunately, due to the lasting state of war of that time the IP regime was never truly established. Little attention was devoted to this new body of law, and after WWII and the establishment of socialist ideologies virtually no consideration was devoted to IP laws whatsoever.
It wasn’t until the 1980’s that Chinese regulators once again began to focus on the importance of protecting Intellectual property. China had just undergone a social reform and implemented the “Opening-Up Policy.” In the previous decades innovation and investment had been dwindling in China, and once again, strengthening IP law was seen as a way to facilitate economic growth and stability. After China’s social reform, many changes were made that supported IP law. In 1980 China joined the World Intellectual Property Organization of the UN. In 1982, the Trademark Law code was first implement, followed by the Patent Law in 1984, and the Copyright Law in 1990.
The laws regarding intellectual property are continuing to develop at a much faster pace than China has ever seen. Still a relatively new body of law, there is much opportunity for growth and improvement. Today, innovation and investment are thriving in China; a fact that reflects positively on the strides continuously being made to secure intellectual property rights in China.