USTR released its Special 301 Report (the “Report”) on April 30, 2021. The China except is attached here. The Report addresses a wider range of IP issues than in many prior years. […]
The NTE Report On Chinese IP And Its Relationships To Chinese Legal Developments

USTR’s recently released NTE report shows continuing lack of clarity over key Chinese legal terms. The report also declines to discuss commercial rule of law issues raised in last years Special 301 report. What role does commercial rule of law have in the Biden Administration’s trade diplomacy? The answer is unclear.
Still Time to Register…
A forthcoming lecture by Mark Cohen on Weaponization of Intellectual Property Against China at UCSD.
Trade Wars: A New Beginning?
Why is this year’s Special 301 Report (the “Report”) from USTR (April 29, 2019) different from prior reports? In prior years, this report often repeated materials found elsewhere, such as in the […]
Collaboration or Confrontation: Beyond the False Dichotomy in US-China IP Relations
Recently several writers have criticized the Trump administration’s strategic choice of confrontation over collaboration with China. Among them was an open letter published in the July 2, 2019, Washington Post, “China is Not […]
US Suspends IP Case Against China at the WTO. Quo Vadis Europa?
DS/542, the WTO case that the US filed against China regarding China’s legal regime for foreign technology transfers, has now been suspended by order of the Panel. The parallel case that was […]
Unpacking the Role of IP Legislation in the Trade War
Here is my attempt to unpack recent legislation and their relevance to the on-going trade dispute. In recent months, China has amended its Foreign Investment Law, the Technology Import/Export Regulations (“TIER”), the […]
The 600 Billion Dollar China IP Echo Chamber
“Most people use statistics the way a drunkard uses a lamp post, more for support than illumination.” Mark Twain What are the losses due to “IP Theft” from China? On a recent […]
Trade and Peace on Earth: Part 2

In the first part of this blog, I talked about unilateral steps that the United States and China have been taking during the ‘trade war’ to address concerns regarding forced tech transfer. […]
Semiconductor Patent Litigation Part 2: Nationalism, Transparency and Rule of Law

“The 60-year-old Yin Zhiyi (Gerald Yin) resolutely gave up the US’s annual salary of one million dollars, broke through the layers of US government review, … He led a team of more […]