The Intellectual Property Rights Infringement in China: the Causes of the Counterfeiting Problem

When at the end of XX century number of counterfeit goods exported by China on the global market increased, this began to arouse discontent among many Western countries. However, all attempts to reform the system of intellectual property rights protection according to Western standards in China remained unsuccessful. The present paper focuses on cultural and institutional causes for the spread of counterfeit activity in modern China. In this paper, basing on statistical data of customs and administrative authorities of the United States, EU, Japan and China, the author analyzed current situation with the counterfeiting problem in China, and some trends in its development. The work identifies the cultural factors that played a key role in shaping the current situation. Through the analysis of laws and regulations, the main shortcomings of the law system, administrative and judicial mechanisms in the field of trademark protection, were identified.