China in Foreigners' Eyes

Fast development of IP system helps Chinese economy: American expert

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-05 09:47

CHICAGO:Chinese intellectual property (IP) and patent laws, as well as its enforcement, are evolving very rapidly which will ultimately help develop the Chinese economy and the country as a whole, said Morgan Chu, a US IP expert.

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"Chinese IP protection is developing and evolving at a very rapid pace. And over time I strongly believe IP protection in China will become stronger in a balanced way which will encourage both capital investment and investment in people in greater and higher technology," Chu said  during an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Chu, who was named The Outstanding Intellectual Property Lawyer in the United States in the first Chambers Award for Excellence of 2006, delivered  a speech on Thursday at the US-China IP Protection Cooperation and Research Forum held at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

A partner at Irell & Manella LLP in Los Angeles, Chu is one of the first Asian Americans to lead a major US law firm.

Chu's professional accolades recognized him as one of the nation's most influential lawyers and most successful trial attorneys. In his opening remarks at the forum, however, Chu described himself only as "just a lawyer who is passionate about IP law."

Chu said that over the last 25 years, Chinese patent laws and other IP laws have been evolving "very rapidly," and that the law enforcement "is evolving too."

"It used to be the case that there were very few cases abroad enforcing patents in China. Now there are more and more such cases being filed abroad everyday," he said.

He said enforcement in terms of number of IP cases abroad as well as number of remedies obtained would increase. "Ultimately if it is a good balanced enforcement, it will be good for China and China's development."

On cooperation in the IP area, Chu said the United States could provide some leadership and guidance that  would help other countries achieve their goals.

When asked for advice to China's IP professionals, Chu talked about the "chicken and egg dilemma."

According to Chu, there were two driving forces which he called "chicken and egg." "We don't really know which comes first. But they move together in this race toward the top. And certainly China is in this race as well and facing the same dilemma."

He said the development of technology, "the chicken", should run in parallel with "the egg" -- the development of IP laws. "As one develops stronger, balanced and fair IP protection which people will rely on, it will go hand in hand with helping attract better talents and capital (in the developmnet of technology)."

And ultimately it would help develop the Chinese economy and the country as a whole, he concluded.

Chu's parents left China for the United States during World War II. His brother Steven Chu won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997 and became US President Barack Obama's secretary of energy in 2009.