How to Protect Your I/P In China

"If you do business in China, you should assume that your designs and products can and will be copied" says Patrick Powers of the US-China Business Council. "China is at least a decade away from anything close to the level of IP protection we have in the U.S.," says says James Mulvenon, deputy director of the center for Asia-Pacific policy at the RAND think tank. Then how can electronics firms protect themselves, you ask? According to Electronic Business Online, firms should

1. make certain that joint venture contracts protect intellectual property
2. file for Chinese patents
3. implement extensive physical and digital security, and
4. compartmentalize production of components.