The perception that intellectual property rights are not adequately enforced in China has led some American companies to hesitate in filing for patent protection in China. However, the Chinese government's desire to promote investment and trade has over recent years led to great improvements in the enforcement mechanisms for intellectual property rights, especially patent rights. In 2005, intellectual property disputes accounted for 13,424 of the cases filed in Chinese courts. Of these, 2,947 were patent cases. Compare this with the 2,812 patent cases filed in the U.S. during the same period. While most of the intellectual property cases filed in 2005 in China were filed by Chinese companies, there was an increase of 75% over 2004 in the number of intellectual property cases filed in China by foreign entities. Clearly, the confidence in the Chinese intellectual property enforcement mechanism is growing, and the perception that intellectual property rights are not protected in China is becoming unjustified.

The logical often asked question is "why file for protection in China?".  A patent is only protected in the country in where it is granted, "so why not only file patents in the countries where my product competes?" The first (and easy) answer to these questions is that China is quickly becoming a good place to market your wares. With a middle class which could grow to 300 million by 2020 and a currency which is on track toward revaluation, the buying power of Chinese consumers and businesses alike is growing fast. But a patent in China may do more than help protect your innovation in China.

China's status as the "workshop of the world" makes it likely that an infringing product, or at least parts of that product, originated in China. Therefore, patenting an innovation in China may have the effect of making it difficult and costly for others to easily manufacture a competing product which could find its way to other places, for example the U.S. or Europe. Since Chinese patent application filing costs (as well as litigation costs) are typically much less than the costs for similar services in the United States or Europe, a Chinese patent could be a very cost-effective way to stifle your competition on an international level. In view of the above, the better question to ask might be: "Why not file for patent protection in China?"