Chinese court overturns Viagra patent, etc.

Red parts in the map indicate either population density or hotspots for counterfeiting, whichever.

Pfizer no longer has monopoly rights to the drug Viagra in China. Actually, they will retain their patent rights until the appeal is over.

Foreign drug companies have been watching the case as a test of China's commitment to intellectual property rights. Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Josette Shiner in November called the Viagra patent challenge a "particularly troubling" example of a questionable Chinese commitment to intellectual property rights...Nonetheless, Damond didn't want to attach too much significance to the event. He said the industry's main concern in China is counterfeiting.

China's commitment to IP? What commitment? China (and Russia) are the worst countries when it comes to protecting IP. And really, who can blame them - why would they use their limited resources to protect our companies' IP rights. It isn't that China couldn't do more, they have the resources (whereas Russia probably does not). But why would China protect our IP at the cost of their own developing economy? They wouldn't, of course.

Article about the Viagra patent here.

Story about counterfeit Calloway golf clubs coming into the US from China here:

"There's not a long tradition of respect of intellectual property in China," Herrington says, adding that the money to be made from producing knockoff products in China far outweighs the penalty for getting caught in the process. In some cases, an abuser might have his or her operations suspended for a year, only to return to the industry when sanctions are lifted.

Story about Chinese companies using lookalike labels to sell Kiwi fruit as being from New Zealand:

China's government has been asked to stop the illegal use of counterfeit labels, and the more subtle use of "look-alike packaging" to cash in on New Zealand's Zespri brand, used on 70 per cent of the global kiwifruit supply during the Southern Hemisphere season.

The "Computer Crime Research Center" reports that 25% of all products sold in China are counterfeit:

China and Russia are named among the most malevolent violators of intellectual property rights. According to the Peking Committee on Brands Protection of 90 international companies, about 25% of all Chinese internal market are counterfeit products.

China and Russia are among top violators of software copyright. In the whole, 42% of all programs installed all over the world are pirate, and this figure reaches 90% in the most adverse countries.