People's Daily: Patent Fees Killing Chinese DVD Player Industry

According to an August 3, 2004 article in People's Daily OnLine, exports of domestically branded DVD players from China have stalled because of "huge" patent fees, reported Tuesday's China Daily. Patent fees levied on Chinese DVD player manufacturers have reached as high as US$27.45 per unit, representing nearly 20 to 30 per cent of their production cost. According to statistics from the Research Institute of Market Economy of the Development Research Centre of the State Council, China now has more than 200 DVD player manufacturers, with annual output hitting 70 million units. Domestic demand, however, is only approximately 5 million units.