America – China Agreement to End Trade War
The agreement which the United States and China reached recently, for the protection of intellectual property rights, averted a potential trade war which would not have been in the interest of the two countries. The agreement obliges China to comply with U.S. demands, to create 22 piracy task forces for overseeing and operating the entire gamut of prevention, detection, closure of illegal plants, and destruction of pirated products, and prosecution for copyright violations.
The demands which the U.S. had been making, and which seem to have been met by China, provide an indication of the kind or preventive steps and policing which will be required for the implementation of the agreement between the two countries. It may be a little astonishing to the rest of the world that there are as many as 29 pirate plants in China, the largest of them being the Shenel Company, which was closed down along with seven other plants Among the pirate plants was the one charged with having made more than 50 million counterfeit copies of razor blades produced by Gillette’s joint venture in Shanghai. The other pirated products were compact discs, the annual production of which is said to be as much as 75 millions. Though its agreement with the U.S. commits China to end such piracy, Chinese administrators have made it clear that the U.S. would be unrealistic in seeking a hundred percent compliance with its demands. This is because the Chinese authorities will require evidence and proof that piracy had taken place. Even where closures of pirate plants have been enforced, it will not be possible to ensure that they will not resume their operation again. The sizeable revenue generation from the sale of pirated products within China could also weaken the will of the authorities for a vigorous enforcement of the anti-piracy laws.
After having persuaded China to agree to such terms for the protection of intellectual property rights, the U.S. is likely to step, up pressure on India to fall in line. The case for protection of intellectual property rights rests upon the claims for reaping exclusive benefits from the marketing of products made by their designers and inventors, and the right for legal protection from their being pirated. The U.S. may well be within its rights in expecting India and other countries to enact anti-piracy laws if they do not already would also be possible in cases where such piracy could b exist, and enforce them with determination. Such enforcement would proved. But, as the Chinese authorities seem to have rightly pointed out, it will be unrealistic to ask for results of the kind which would satisfy the U.S., for reasons which should not be overlooked.
An estimate made by Gillette Ltd., the Chinese joint venture company, that the sales of the pirated “look-alikes” exceeded 10 million, for instance, merits some attention for the questions it raises. While legal proceedings could be initiated in cases where it would be possible to establish that the “look-alikes” were counterfeit, it will not be possible in all cases, and for very good reasons. If the “look-alikes” embody a different process or technology, and if this could be proved, it could invalidate charges of violation of ‘PR? It would also convincingly reveal a presence of inventive genius, far more widespread than the U.S. crusaders for protection of IPR would like to believe. The obsession of the U.S. with seeking world-wide enforcement of IPR should, therefore provide an inducement for scientists and R & D establishments in India and other countries to sharpen their own inventive and designing capabilities, and demonstrate that they are not exclusively American.
