OECD Urges China to Address “Uncertainties” in IP Environment, Innovation Policy

PARIS — China’s economy could fall short of its potential and some firms could withdraw from innovation activities there if the country fails to address “uncertainties” in its intellectual property environment, according to two reports released on October 12 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

According to “Policy Complements to the Strengthening of IPRS in Developing Countries”, although China has increasingly formalized and centralized legal aspects of IP protection in the last two decades, regional variation, in particular local weakness of enforcement, still poses problems.

The 72-page paper, from OECD’s Working Party of the Trade Committee, looks at ...