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greenmedic88 on 11 September 2008
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Gnizmo said:

greenmedic88 said:

But most countries do have copyright and IP laws, licensing laws, etc. While they may not be exactly the same from one nation to the next, there are legal boundaries/rights.

Somehow, I can't see any software company distributing software to a country completely devoid of copyright laws.

 

 Companies continue to release their software in China despite essentially no IP laws if you are not China. While I think there are a few on the books, they are not close to enforced unless you are directly owned by China.

That's one of the big problems for console video games entering the Chinese market. Virtually all legal software in China is digital distribution. It grew by something like 67% last year.

But they do actually have regular copyright laws, which have been adjusted to maintain favorable WTO status.

China has a patent office (State Intellectual Propery Office), and they are members of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). Its IPR laws have actually been in effect since 1979.

The myth that there are no IP laws in China is largely perpetrated by the common knowledge that China is home to some of the worst piracy worldwide.

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To enforcement IPRs protection, an administrative system has been established within the government. After the reshuffle of the State Council in March 1998, the Patent Office became part of the State Intellectual Property Office. The Trademarks Office is still under the authority of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The Copyright Office falls within the State Administration for Press and Publication. A similar system exists at various levels of local government. Commonly, enforcement of IPRs will be carried out by local IPRs personnel, assisted by police from the local Public Security Bureau.

In order to handle cases of infringement of IPRs more efficiently, special intellectual property courts have been established in some cities and provinces. At the level of the Higher People's Court in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan, intellectual property courts have been separated from the economic division. Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin have also established intellectual property courts within the Intermediate People's Court. In 1992, the Supreme People's Court established an intellectual property division.

Customs protection is another positivie mechanism in law enforcement with regard to IPRs. The Regulations on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (中华人民共和国知识产权海关保护条例), promulgated in June 1995, strengthened border control to stop counterfeited goods from coming into, or leaving, the PRC.