"requirement that foreign companies share their intellectual property (IP) to gain access to the Chinese market"??



Western behemoths have for the last 40 years continued to ripoff Chinese companies of their IP on a massive scale. The practice is insidious and widespread, and prevents the nation from upgrading its IP portfolio. Millions of contracts of adhesion caused many trillions of dollars of IP losses by Chinese companies. If there is to be fairness, how is that to be accounted for?



Just look at the typical T&C (Terms and Conditions) that the major American importers demanded of their vendors, and you will find similar provisions everywhere:



"CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION; NONDISCLOSURE



Supplier shall not at any time, during or after the Term of this Agreement, disclose to others, take or use for its own purposes or the purpose of others, any of Company’s confidential information, knowledge, designs, data, know-how, trade secrets, or any other information considered “confidential” or “proprietary” by Company. Supplier understands, agrees and recognizes that this obligation applies, but is not limited to, technical information, designs, marketing and financial information, and any business information that Company treats as confidential. Any confidential information, knowledge, designs, data, know-how, trade secrets, or any other information considered “confidential” or “proprietary” by Supplier which the Supplier shall have disclosed or may hereafter disclose to the Company and which in any way relates to the goods or services covered by this order, agreement or contract, shall, unless otherwise specifically agreed to in writing by the Company be deemed to be confidential or proprietary information and further shall be acquired by the Company free from any restrictions (other than a claim for patent infringement) as part of the consideration for this order, agreement or contract. No cause of action will arise on Supplier’s behalf for Company’s use of any confidential information disclosed to Company, and no damages whatsoever shall accrue to Supplier for Company’s use thereof. Supplier shall keep confidential any and all technical processes and information, economic and financial information, designs, data, marketing information, and any other business information that Company treats as confidential furnished to Supplier in connection with this order, agreement or contract and Supplier shall not divulge, export or use directly or indirectly, such information for the benefit of any other party without obtaining Company’s written permission. Supplier shall return all items belonging to Company and all copies of documents containing such confidential information in Supplier’s possession or under Supplier’s control upon request by the Company or termination of this Agreement."



[Note how that "what's yours ends up mine" language is craftily hidden in the middle of the passage. Typical American style drafting.]



You think that is bad? Try this zinger:



"INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY



Absent a separate express agreement between Supplier and Company and after one year from date of importation of Merchandise into the United States which in any way relates to the goods or services covered by an Order, , Supplier will irrevocably grant to Company a full paid up, royalty free license to make, use, sell and offer for sale any such Merchandise free of any claim of infringement or misappropriation of any intellectual property of Supplier. The aforementioned paid up license will remain in effect until the expiration of any intellectual property relating in any way to the Merchandise."

__________________

Can you imagine clauses like that imposed on Microsoft, or Intel, etc., by any Chinese entity without causing a fire and brimstone response?? Yet this sort of chicanery is imposed by major American companies in contracts of adhesion on hundreds of thousands of Chinese exporters year in and year out. The typical Chinese company simply is not in a position to bargain. As a result, China had been ROBBED of trillions of dollars of valuable IP over the decades.



What is good must be universal. If IP is to be protected, everyone’s IP should be protected.