Criminal Intellectual Property Enforcement in Asia

Abstract IP scholars are not familiar with criminal law and nor are criminal law scholars familiar with IP law. This edited volume delves into this no man’s land. It identifies and addresses one aspect of IP laws and regimes in Asia that has been long overlooked but is shaping or even distorting the IP landscape in Asia, namely the actual use and/or overuse of criminal punishment for protecting IP rights. This is in stark contrast to leading Western jurisdictions, whose criminal punishment of IP infringement is provided for but rarely enforced. The overarching theme of this book is to critically review the rationale, legitimacy, and effectiveness of criminalizing IP infringement, assess its significance, expose its side effects, and propose reform suggestions. It has five parts. It starts with a criminological discussion of IP crimes, followed by five chapters that study the sources and models of criminal punishment of IP infringement, namely international treaties, the US, UK, Germany, and the EU. Part III then surveys six major civil law Asian jurisdictions—Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China, Thailand, and Vietnam. Part IV research four major common law Asian jurisdictions—India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The sequence of Parts III and IV follows the order of seniority in introducing criminal punishment for IP infringement and is based on a common structure. The last part of the book provides policy analysis by first rethinking the criminal sanctions against the background of generative AI and the evolution of IP, followed by a comparative study and reform suggestions for IP leading jurisdictions, Asian jurisdictions, and the WTO community.