Question

There has been a lot of news lately about US/China relations. For many years, China has had a ridiculous trade imbalance with the United States. Next time you are in a store ... flip over the item and see where it was made. Here's a tip: it was probably China. So, after President Trump imposed tariff's on China's goods .. with threats to apply even more ... China has agreed to buy $1 trillion worth of US products over the next few years. It is a step in the right direction ... but they still have the edge on us. The other big issue with China is theft of intellectual property. Discuss some of these issues. What would you do? Do you have any experience with IP theft?

Answer 1

The problem discussed above is one of the most pressing challenges to American competitiveness. Intellectual-property theft covers a wide spectrum: counterfeiting American fashion designs, pirating movies and video games, patent infringement and stealing proprietary technology and software. This assault saps economic growth, costs Americans jobs, weakens our military capability and undercuts a key American competitive advantage — innovation. Much of American industry has seen its trademarked, patented, copyrighted, and otherwise, proprietary products get copied in China. As per the statistics, the trade in pirated and counterfeit goods rakes in more than $500 billion annually across the globe. Chinese factories are responsible for a major chunk of the world production of bogus goods.

IP theft also throws up a trade barrier. Many companies have started avoiding the Chinese market because they fear they could lose their most valuable assets, their intellectual property. It is harming American businesses in the sense that they refraining from wading into the world's fastest growing economy.

Here's what I can do. I would refrain from buying Chinese products if American counterparts are available. In my capacity as a student, I could spread awareness regarding the following tips to protect businesses. They should be Prioritization of  Intellectual Property and Trade Secret Protection. Most Valuable Data Assets should be identified and protected. Employee Awareness should be Improved. Implementation of business procedures to augment non-disclosure agreements. Creation of supply chain procedures and plans to serve our cause.

No, I haven't experienced it but I have heard about it.