Abstract
In the wave of recent scholarship on intellectual property law in mainland China (“China”), several scholars have argued that there was no indigenous counterpart to Western notions of intellectual property in China. These arguments call into question the efficacy of intellectual property laws enacted by the People’s Republic of China during the 1980s and early 1990s. Many commentators on China have viewed the passage of intellectual property laws in China as a mere reaction to external pressures, particularly from the United States, demanding that China strengthen its intellectual property regime to conform more closely to international practice as a pre-condition to full participation in international trade regimes. Very few commentators have argued that mtellectual property laws in China indicate a heretofore unchartered interest in promoting scientific invention and artistic creation within Chinese society, and even fewer have asserted that the enactment of intellectual property laws in China is an indication of an emerging legal culture, characterized by a strengthening judiciary and greater compliance with the written laws, although there is increasing empirical evidence that just such a change is underway.