RESOURCES AND LINKS

for International Comparative
Intellectual Property Studies*

Intellectual Property Law

People's Republic of China

China Electronic Commerce (EC) Law (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
This site provides an extensive collection of materials concerning China's law and policy development in electronic commerce. This site is operated and managed by Mr. Alamusi, currently Director of Computer and Microelectronic Research and Development Center, Ministry of Information Industry, who participated in the drafting of most regulations or laws on China's IT industry.

China Intellectual Property Net (in English and all forms of Chinese characters)
Just began full services, this site is jointly sponsored and managed by the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the Intellectual Property Publishing Co. Both the official Chinese Patent Gazette and the Chinese Patent Specifications (full patents) are now published online here simultaneously with the paper version every Wednesday. It now contains more than 700,000 patents granted since 1985, the year the Chinese Patent Law took effect. Although only at the beginning stage and clearly there is more room for improvement, given the enormous information resources it receives, this site is indeed poised to become one of the most comprehensive databases on China's intellectual property protection and development.

China IPR
This is the site created and managed by Mark A. Cohen, co-editor of Chinese Intellectual Property Law and Practice (Kluwer Law International, 1999), and his associates. The site has a very comprehensive collection of links to various sites concerning the Chinese intellectual property law and more.

ChinaSite.com
An encyclopedic reference to all types information and activities concerning Greater China. Being bilingual (Chinese and English), this site offers great convenience to those who only master one language (but not the other) or who wish to make cross reference with each other.

Chinese IPR Judicial Protection (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
Judge Jiang Zhipei of the Supreme People's Court has taken his personal interests and researches online to share them with those who are also interested in the Chinese intellectual property law. Several articles provide excellent insight and may serve as a clue on what that court may do when facing some of the difficult issues in the future.

China Law Info (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
Managed by the Peking University School of Law, the site has a very good collection of legal information and development in China.

China Law Online (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
In addition to its resourceful collection of legal links, news, articles, and cases, this site also contains a free search engine to the authoritative Law Yearbook of China.

China Online
Based in Chicago, this cite provides a good amount of news, commentaries and other reports on China and Taiwan, with focus more or less on the economic development, and a very good sector-by-sector breakdown for business concerns. This site also provides some information on Japan.

Copyright Information in China (in English and simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
Before the National Copyright Administration's web site come into being, this is probably one of the few sites devoted completely to copyright-related issues. The site is established and managed by Mr. Liu Jianan.

China Judge Website (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
Claimed to be the first judge-operated web site in China, this site contains very up-to-date reprints of newspaper op-ed pieces on various legal subjects. Some of its collected papers and/or opinions may be pushing the envelop of the current censorship.

Dongtao on Law
Judge Lee Dongtao of the Haidian District People's Court of Beijing has been directly involved in handing down judgments on a number of landmark cases concerning the infringement liability of computer software and Internet or e-commerce related issues. This site is the collection of his several interviews about his ideas, experiences and view points with China Computerworld magazine. Most interestingly, the text is translated and published in English.

Government Online Project (primarily in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
This is the official starting point for the Government Online Project in China, a critical switch board to other government sites.

Lawbook.com (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
Formally launched on July 28, 1999, this is a site where researchers can find an extensive coverage of legal publications in China, and an excellent database for some of the latest laws and administrative regulations.

Law Hotline (Law Online) (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
The site contains four categories and has done a very good job both in scope and in depth in keeping track of the latest developments in the Chinese legal profession.

Law-Star (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
An excellent resource of legal activities and developments in the Greater China region. It's intellectual property section contains an extensive coverage.

National Bureau of Asian Research, Inc. (NBR)
Originally a spin-off from the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, and focused primarily on national security issues, the NBR is now an independent research institute with a broad base of coverage on issues related to Asia. The organization produces many up-to-date papers on current issues concerning Asia and it also maintains a comprehensive and authoritative database on scholars/researchers in the field, called the AccessAsia. The Asia Pacific Legal Institute has been in collaboration with NBR since 1994 for a major intellectual property project with China.

National People's Congress (NPC) News (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
This is the official site for the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee, the highest legislative authority in China. The site is operated by The People's Daily (Renmin Ribao), the official government's newspaper and is updated on a weekly basis. As of September 12, 2000, the NPC rolled out a new site to replace the original site.

Peking University Intellectual Property (in English and simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
This is the one-stop site for intellectual property-related inquiries concerning Peking University and more. The site serves as the home for PU's Intellectual Property School, Center for the Study of Rule of Law, and the Intellectual Property Society for Chinese Universities.

State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
This is the official site of one powerful administrative agency in China which not only registers trademarks but also charges with the responsibility of anti-piracy campaigns/activities.

State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) (in English and simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
Formally the Chinese Patent Office (CPO), the 1998 governmental reorganization initiative expanded the CPO and gave it the primary enforcement and international negotiation responsibility over all intellectual property related matters, although this goal has not fully realized yet. nevertheless, this official site serves as a good source of information on "what's new" in China's intellectual property development, both national and local.

Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (in simplified Chinese characters/GB code)
This is the official website of the highest judicial authority in China, and, therefore, the most authoritative legal resource for judicial interpretation, precedents, press releases and other documents.

United Nations in China
The representative offices from the United Nations, 13 of its organizations, and the 3 Bretton Woods institutions (the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)) now have a combined, one-stop site to introduce their activities and work results to the viewers.

The United States-China Business Council
This is the site of one of the largest trade associations that represents American business interests in China. It's various position papers, analyses and the monthly publication, China Business Review, cover a wide range of trade-related issues, including intellectual property protection in China.

*This list is intended to serve as a starting point for those who wish to conduct international comparative researches on intellectual property and/or trade law issues. As many of these sites also provide extensive links to other sites, our list is not an attempt to duplicate their efforts, rather to compliment them. Special indications are made for sites that are bilingual, multilingual or in foreign language.

All materials contained in the Asia Pacific Legal Institute web site and pages are for research and reference only, and should not be used as legal authority for any other purposes. You should always consult and verify with the original authority for accuracy of any report or article published herein. Unless otherwise indicated, Asia Pacific Legal Institute owns and reserves all intellectual property rights of the published materials herein, text and graphics. Asia Pacific Legal Institute, APLI and its logo are all registered service marks in the United States of America.

People's Republic
of China

Republic of China
(Taiwan)