Trapped in China's Shadow? Intellectual Property Protection in Post-WTO-Accession Russia

Abstract

Russia’s December 2011 accession to the World Trade Organization means that it has agreed to implement and enforce intellectual property (IP) laws in accordance with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property. This gives some hope that foreign enterprises, frequently victims of IP infringement in Russia, will receive protection. Yet the parallel experience of China, which acceded in 2001, tempers that enthusiasm because the WTO has been ineffective in stopping infringement there. This Note compares China’s and Russia’s historical attitudes toward IP rights, economic incentives to adopt Western standards, and institutional challenges to assess the extent to which the WTO’s performance in China can predict its efficacy in curtailing counterfeiting and piracy in Russia.