An intellectual property expert believes that New Zealand business are losing out on opportunities in China because of the country's pervasive image as the "Wild West" of intellectual property rights. Luke Minford, the Beijing-based chief executive of IP consultancy Rouse, said many challenges still existed, particularly around counterfeiting. For example, Kiwifruit marketer Zespri has had issues with fruit being falsely labelled under its branding in the Chinese market.
Yet, data compiled by Rouse showed 87 per cent of the IP cases launched by foreign plaintiffs in China were won.
"That's a significantly higher percentage than Chinese companies against Chinese companies," Minford said. "To say that the Chinese courts are biased against foreign plaintiffs is wrong."
It took about six to eight months to get a decision from a Chinese court, he added, which was about twice as fast as in New Zealand or Britain.
Despite this, Minford, a veteran of China's IP industry, said some New Zealand companies were still avoiding Asia's biggest economy because of IP fears.
"It's good to be afraid, but don't let that define how you approach China," he said. "I think it's good to come in with a mindset that's aware of the risks, but I suspect you should bring that same approach to any big new market."
Minford said dealing with an IP issue in China could often be fixed with a single cease and desist letter.
