This is an outstanding academic achievement with an exceptionally high level of scholarship on the politics of intellectual property rights (IPR) in China. Martin K. Dimitrov makes three major arguments. First, both Chinese state capacity and the level of enforcement of IPR are low; second, the so-called campaign style of enforcement is ineffective; and finally, legal protections are improving much more than enforcement practices. Yet IPR protection is improving very slowly in China. In certain areas, such as copyright and patents, the role of law has become significant, while in other areas, such as trademarks, it is far from perfect.
A key academic contribution of this book is its research effort. The author painstakingly carried out 239 interviews in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zouping County, Jinan, Dalian, Haikou, and Hong Kong with people from different walks of life. He improves the analysis by looking from a comparative angle with further...