Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Imitation - An empirical examination of Japanese FDI in China -

By using the data obtained from a questionnaire survey to the Japanese firms in China this paper empirically examines the effects of the IPRs protection against local illegal imitation. No evidence has been found in the test that the patent and trademark registration, which constitutes a part of the whole IPRs protection system, has protective effect. To the contrary the results suggest that the patent and trademark registration system may play a role in facilitating local illegal imitation and may be mediate technology transfer/diffusion in China.