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The experts however hasten to point out that the legal environment for intellectual property in China is far from being one-sided and that it has made important progress in the last 40 years as the country has begun its economic transformation.
In doing so, he introduced many Western legal concepts related to economics and business, including intellectual property. Joining the World Trade Organization in 2001 has led to improvement, as has the growing quality of judges and the creation in recent years of special tribunals for intellectual property.
Cedric Lam, chief intellectual property officer for Greater China at the Eversheds Sutherland law firm in Hong Kong, told CNBC last month, evoking the developments for more than 20 years that he had spent negotiating the IP Landscape.
"The legal framework exists, but the way you will implement and enforce these legal provisions has been the problem," Lam said, citing the lack of implementation, considered a drawback. On top of that, he said, the quality of judges may have improved, but it is important to remember that their salaries are paid by local governments.
However, Cohen said foreigners have been successful in solving intellectual property problems in China for years. He cited a gain rate of more than 80% in patent cases involving foreigners, while they account for less than 2% of intellectual property litigation cases.
And while many indicators welcome this finding, such as the existence of the world's largest trademark office, as evidence of China's intellectual property protection, Cohen said the situation was getting blurry when the "fundamental" intellectual property was at stake.
"The main problem we face in China with respect to intellectual property is reminiscent of what we are facing in other areas of our commercial engagement," he said. "It is that China has a different system that is very oriented and controlled by the state."
