The Research and Development Society

Tuesday 13 June 2006, 6.00pm
The Royal Society, 7 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG

Most people do not understand what is happening in IP in China - which is on the verge of becoming a major technology and IP generator. This stems from the recognition inside China (largely missed by foreign observers) of the fundamental importance of IP to economic growth as well as the natural creativity and inventiveness of the Chinese. Far too many British companies are avoiding China , in the largely mistaken view that their IP cannot be protected or enforced. They also miss the sourcing of new technology from China .

To understand this better, the talk will address factually the three components of China 's IP regime: the underpinning law; the cost and quality of the IP "right" acquired, and, the effectiveness and cost of enforcing that right. It will identify the most common mistakes made by foreign companies in China and how to avoid them. Finally, it will look at the historic and current innovative output of China before drawing some rather unfavourable comparisons with the climate for IP in Europe .

Ian Harvey has been a student for many years of the history and trends of global invention and technology development and the related role of IP. He has written many articles and book chapters and lectures widely on global intellectual property and technology issues, particularly as they relate to business. He was Chief Executive Officer of BTG plc from 1985 until his retirement in late 2004. BTG is the world-leading technology commercialisation company which has been patenting and licensing globally since the early 1950's. He joined BTG following a varied career first as an engineer with Vickers and Laporte Industries and later with the World Bank. He is currently Chairman of The Intellectual Property Institute Board, Adjunct Professor at the Tanaka Business School, Imperial College and an advisor to the Center for IP Studies (CIP) Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg University the International Intellectual Property Institute, Washington DC.