Strategies for Intellectual Property and Preventing Technology Leakage in China: A Comparison of Strategies Used in Japan, America, and Europe

Japanese corporations and American and European corporations take different approaches when it comes to business in China in general: (i) American corporations are concentrated in the music, motion picture, and software industries, so they have a particular interest in solving copyright infringement problems; (ii) American and European corporations have started to actively use China as a base for research and development; and (iii) many American corporations have clear China-specific technological strategies. The systems for managing intellectual property in China also differ among Japanese corporations and American and European corporations: (i) whether American and European corporations have an IP department depends on the individual corporation’s overall management policies; (ii) locally hired employees managing intellectual property in American and European corporations are usually the ones entrusted with important IP-related duties; (iii) there are many requirements for employment and the remuneration is high for locally hired employees managing intellectual property in American and European corporations; and (iv) relatively few Japanese corporations attribute intellectual property rights to their subsidiaries in China.