The Impact of the Sino-US Intellectual Property Cases on the Evolution of Chinese Law and the Future Globalization Trend of Chinese Law from the Perspective of the WTO

Abstract

This paper critically examines the trade relations between China and the United States, with a particular focus on the sensitive issue of intellectual property rights (IPR) trade frictions and disputes. It delves into the root causes of IPR conflicts between the two nations by analyzing IPR cases that have arisen since China acceded to the World Trade Organization. Notably, during the period from 2001 to 2016, the United States initiated a total of 243 “337 investigations” cases against China, which represents 77.66% of all such investigations targeting China. This study also considers the strategic implications of these cases and assesses the impact of the evolving IPR system in China. In 2008, China’s IPR policies were notably centered on enhancing protection, which is reflected in text mining results where the keyword “protection” emerged as one of the top eight high-frequency words, with occurrences ranging from 25 to 73. Furthermore, this analysis forecasts the future trends in China’s legal globalization, informed by the evolution of its intellectual property law.