Rainforest Realities: “In the past few months I’ve had the opportunity at several conferences to speak about innovation and intellectual property in China. I’ve come to realize that outside views about intellectual property in China are similar to common misperceptions about sustainability in this land. I’m glad to share my thoughts because I see huge gaps between Western views of China and the reality that is unfolding here.
Failure to appreciate the reality of innovation in China will lead many in the West to miss huge emerging opportunities. China is moving from a nation of low-cost manufacturing to a nation that relies on innovation and intellectual property. There is much progress still needed, but the changes are dramatic. China has gone from a nation with essentially no intellectual property laws 30 years ago to a nation that now leads the world in patent filings.
It is a nation where a small company in the U.S. can take its patents and trademarks to Chinese courts and win against Chinese companies. This happened recently (April 2012) in Shanghai, when a maker of blow-molded tables from my home state of Utah in the United States was able to enforce both its design patent and its trademark against Chinese infringers.
The growth of China’s intellectual property system from essentially nothing to a bustling, world-class system in so short a time is a dramatic example of what can be achieved in China, and should remind us that old stereotypes about China need to be frequently updated or discarded.
Illustrations from China’s 1313 Book of Farming
Today we are on the verge of a renaissance in Chinese innovation, returning China to a historic leadership role in technology and innovation. This historic role, however, is often not appreciated by the West. For example, many in the West, including eminent scholars, still think that Europe invented printing with movable type, and believe that the first mass-produced book printed with movable type was the Gutenberg Bible. This was a brilliant achievement, absolutely, but it came 142 years after Wang Zhen used movable type to mass produce the mammoth Nong Shu (农书) or Book of Farming in 1313, a beautifully illustrated book of agricultural innovation intended to preserve advanced knowledge from across China to help elevate the nation economically. The book not only describes useful agricultural methods and crops, but also details many mechanical inventions with drawings reminiscent of Leonardo DaVinci’s works.
China’s historic role as a great inventor only recently became available in the West with the publication of Science and Civilization in China by famed British scholar Joseph Needham. His 28-volume work details the Chinese origins of gunpowder, the compass, smallpox inoculation, mechanical clocks, paper money, suspension bridges, and numerous other advances long thought to be Western in origin.
The current rise of innovation now in China is not something new, but a return to ancient splendor. There are those who dismiss innovation in China as something the Chinese just aren’t capable of. That flawed viewpoint is squarely defied by the tide of history. While there were many forces that delayed China’s entry into the industrial revolution and led the modern world to see China as far from innovative, the momentum is shifting dramatically now.
Just as the West has failed to credit China for many past innovations, modern innovation from China doesn’t fare much better. APP’s innovation in sustainability, for example, ought to be evidence to anyone who visits our mills or sets foot on one of our plantations.
The water coming from APP’s mills has levels of purity exceeding accepted standards not just in China but in Europe and North America. Air emissions are remarkably low as well. And many advanced and innovative techniques have been developed in our sustainable plantations to provide high levels of productivity and efficiency —a sustainable model that often goes unrecognized.
There have been remarkable progress and achievements as noted in APP-China’s corporate sustainability report and our innovative Paper Contract with China, where APP is taking a leadership role in China in advancing the sustainability of the industry.
I challenge you to think about what you might have heard regarding sustainability in China and at APP. Just as the West gets a lot of things wrong regarding IP and innovation in China, some of what you’ve heard on sustainability may be incomplete or way off. We hope you’ll take a look and see for yourself.”
via The Rise of Innovation in China: Failed Western Stereotypes | Rainforest Realities.
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