Criminal Enforcement of IP in Asia: Asian vis-à-vis Western Approach

This paper is to identity and address one overlooked regime that shapes IP laws and regimes, namely the actual use and/or overuse of criminal punishment for protecting IP rights. This is especially so in major Asian economies. In stark contrast, in Western jurisdictions, criminal punishment for protecting IP rights is although provided for, but rarely enforced.

The overarching theme of this proposed book is to challenge the legitimacy and effectiveness of criminalizing IP infringement by exposing many of its side-effects. It will do so by surveying national IP laws and practice and conducting comparative and policy study. Through this work will the actual difference between IP rights in action vis-à-vis IP rights in book played out in major Asian and major Western regimes be unraveled, the devastating negative effects of criminal punishment on the healthy development of IP regimes exposed, and future suggestions for improvement on a global scale explored.

Prof. Kung-Chung Liu is a Professor of Law and the founder and director of the Applied Research Center for Intellectual Assets and the Law in Asia (ARCIALA 2015-2021), Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University. He is also affiliated with the Renmin University of China, Graduate Institute of Technology, Innovation and Intellectual Property Management, National Chengchi University, Taiwan, and is the Adjunct Chair Professor, Shandong University, China. Prof. Liu studied law at the National Taiwan University and Ludwig-Maximillian-Universität Munich, Germany, and his teaching and research interests include intellectual property law, antitrust and unfair competition law, and communication law.

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