Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

Ambassador Choi Hyuck (Korea)
C TRANSITIONAL REVIEW UNDER SECTION 18 OF THE PROTOCOL ON THE ACCESSION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
73. The representative of China thanked Members that had made reasonable and sound comments on China's IPR protection. With regard to those Members that had made critical comments, he expressed his hope that a careful study of his speech could bring about a better and more realistic understanding of the challenges and difficulties the Chinese Government was facing in dealing with IP protection. He said that it was unfortunate that there were few reasonable and rational in-depth explorations of the reasons for IP infringement problems, which were a prevailing phenomenon across the world and the reasons for which, in his view, would ultimately be found to be economic. 74. He noted that IPR infringement activities in China were increasingly being organized by foreign investors or criminals who sought to profit from these illegal activities. One of these cases, that had been concluded earlier this year in Shanghai, concerned an American citizen who had set up a 3-Dollar DVD website (registered in Russia) and had conducted his illegal piracy activity in China. This American citizen had now been punished in accordance with the well-designed Chinese IPR laws and regulations. 75. He urged those Members who had submitted questions to study the responses in detail and to read the "White Paper" his delegation had submitted. His Government had been breaking its back fighting against domestic IP infringement and, instead of pointing the finger at the Chinese Government, Members should offer their help and support in this fight. He expressed his hope that, if Members would take a more developmental perspective on the Chinese IPR situation, they would stand shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese Government to fight against this phenomenon of IPR infringement, not only in China but across the world.
IP/C/M/49