China remains the country of greatest concern to the European Union in terms of intellectual property protection, according to the European Commission's latest report, published on 9 December.
India is also singled out in the document, which analyses the protection and enforcement of intellectual property in non-Member States. Other so-called “priority” countries where strengthening EU action is needed are Indonesia, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.
While Beijing has recently made efforts to revise and improve its legislation, including the creation of specialised intellectual property courts, these legal provisions sometimes lack clarity. A vagueness that leaves a wide margin of discretion to local authorities as to their interpretation, the Commission also points out.
In particular, the report points to forced technology transfer practices, which remain a “systemic” problem in China, especially in advanced technology sectors. Trade secrets also remain extremely poorly protected.
Counterfeits, particularly in the field of luxury goods, continue to circulate widely in China, the main producer of counterfeits imported into the EU. India and South-East Asian countries are also singled out, as well as transit centres, including Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
As for copyright piracy - especially online and satellite piracy - it remains a major problem for Europe's creative sectors, the document also states. The list of countries where these practices are endemic is long. Moreover, customs authorities are not empowered to take ex officio measures to seize or destroy counterfeit and pirated goods or face inadequate procedures, the Commission also notes.
Finally, the penalties imposed on offenders often remain too low to act as a deterrent.
The Commission also points to a “lack of political will and resources” on most of these issues, which these countries generally demonstrate.
For the EU, however, the protection of intellectual property is, according to Phil Hogan, EU Commissioner for Trade, critical for economic growth. “As much as 82% of all EU exports is generated by sectors which depend on intellectual property”, he said in a statement, pointing out that such intellectual property infringements “threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs in the EU every year”.
To read the report: https://bit.ly/35CTjK7 (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)