“Crimes Relevant to Intellectual Property Law”

By Andrea Wechsler, Max Weber Fellow, 2011-2012

 

From 15-16November 2011, Andrea Wechsler co-organized and participated in a China-EU School of Lawtraining of Chinese prosecutors on the issue of criminal enforcement of intellectual property rights at the National Prosecutors College of the P.R.China(国家检察官学院) in Beijing.

Over the last thirty-year period of China’s opening-up, and its economic reform, towards “Socialism with Chinese

Characteristics”, intellectual property protection and enforcement have attained a prominent role in Chinese industrial policy.While enormous progress has been made in establishing a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of intellectual property, deficiencies have remained in particular in the area of enforcement. One of the most topical questions has therefore become the issue of criminal enforcement of intellectual property rights in China.

In addressing enforcement deficiencies and in its efforts to promote an environment of intellectual property protection, China has been substantially supported by European initiatives, such as the EU-China Project on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR1 and IPR2) and the German-Chinese Rule of Law Dialogue (“Deutsch-Chinesischer Rechtsstaatsdialog”).Yet another initiative that seeks to provide technical assistance and supports capacity building for the enhancement of the intellectual property system in China is the China-EU School of Law at the China University of Political Sci
The China-EU School of Lawwas founded in 2008 on the basis of a financing agreement between the European Unionand the Government of the P.R. China. Its mission is toenable a large cohort of legal students, researchers and professionals to acquire knowledge spanning both Chinese and Western laws. To this effect, it organises master programmes, a Ph.D. programme, an academic research and consulting programme as well as professional training. The November 2011 training discussed heretook place within the framework of the China-EU School of Law professional training.ence and Law (CESL).

The November 2011 intellectual property professional training focused on “Crimes Relevant to Intellectual Property Law”. It was co-organized by Andrea Wechsler, Max Weber Fellow and Affiliated Research Fellow of the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law(Munich,Germany), and Prof. Danièle Alexandre, Professor Emeritus, Université de Strasbourg in collaboration with the Centre of International Studies in Intellectual Property(CEIPI, France). In addition to Andrea Wechsler further speakers during the training were Dr. Kaya Koeklue, Research Fellow at theMax Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law(Munich,Germany), Dr. Tobias Malte Mueller, Partner at Wirsing, Hass, Meinhold(Munich,Germany) and Prof. Christian Le Stanc, Full Professor of Civil and Commercial Law and Intellectual Property Law,MontpellierUniversity(France).

The training covered thoroughly all aspects of criminal enforcement of intellectual property protection with particular emphasis on criminal enforcement in the area of theEuropean Union. The following topics were discussed at length: “Why Punish? Insights from Economics”; “An Introduction to EU Law, TRIPS, and ACTA as Framework for Criminal IP Enforcement in Europe”; “Scope and Relevance of Criminal Enforcement of IPRs in Europe (e.g. organized crime, counterfeiting, cases)”; Customs Actions Against Goods Suspected of Infringing IPRs – Interplay between Customs and Prosecutors”; “IP Enforcement Strategies in Europe – Interplay of Lawyers and Prosecutors”; “Criminal Enforcement of IPRs on German Trade Fairs”;“Criminal Enforcement of IPRs in France”; and “Criminal Enforcement of IPRs and the Internet from a Rightholder’s Perspective”.

The recipients of the training and a corresponding training certificate were a group of 70 Chinese prosecutors that had been selected by theNational Prosecutors College of the P.R. China.As capacity building requires a continued and long-term effort, comparable training will be offered by the China-EU School of Lawin the future in the hope of thereby contributing to a sustainable intellectual property environment in China.