Profiting from Innovation in China

Book excerpt: China is dramatically catching up and is rapidly becoming a leading technological innovator on the global scale. The number of Chinese firms with global ambitions is growing fast, more and more technological innovation is coming from China, and the number of patents in China is also growing steadily. The negative side of this development is the still insufficient protection of intellectual property in China. The phenomenon of counterfeits originating from China has increased constantly over the past two decades. Moreover, within the past ten years the scale of intellectual property theft has risen exponentially in terms of its sophistication, volume, the range of goods, and the countries affected. This book addresses managers dealing with innovation in China, and offers concrete advice on how Western firms can benefit from these innovations. Among others, it provides examples and checklists to help decision-makers active in China.​