Abstract
Western attempts to obtain Chinese compliance with intellectual property rights have a long history of failure. Most discussions of the problem focus on either legal comparisons or explanations arising from levels of economic development (based primarily on the example of U.S. disregard for such rights during the 18th and 19th centuries). After decades of heated negotiation, intellectual property rights is still one of the major issues of misunderstanding between the West and the various Chinese political entities. This paper examines the sources of this problem from the standpoint of traditional Chinese social and political philosophy (specifically Neo-Confucianism). It points out that the basic assumptions about the nature of intellectual property, which arose during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe, are fundamentally at odds with the traditional Chinese view of the role of intellectuals in society. It suggests that policies which do not take these differences into account, but which attempt to transfer Western legal concepts without the underlying social constructs are responsible for much of the lack of success in the area of intellectual property rights.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alford W. (1995). To Steal a Book is an Elegant Offense – Intellectual Property Law in Chinese Civilization. Palo Alto, Stanford.
Allinson R.E. (1989). Understanding the Chinese mind: The philosophical roots. Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, New York
Aristotle :1962, (H. Rackham, translator), The Nicomachean ethics, with an English translation (Harvard University Press, Cambridge)
Ch’ên Kenneth Kuan Shêng (1964). Buddhism in China, a historical survey. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Chu H.: 1990, (Daniel K. Gardner, translator), Learning to be a sage: Selections from the conversations with master Chu, arranged topically, (University of California Press, Berkeley).
Cicero, M. T.: 1928, (Clinton Walker Keyes, translator), De re Publica, De Legibus (Harvard University Press, Cambridge).
Confucius: 2000, (James Legge Translator), Analects, the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, Reprinted edition (SMC Publishing, Taipei)
De Bary W. T., Chaffee J. W., and Birge B. (eds) (1989). Neo-Confucian Education: The Formative Stage (Studies on China, Vol 9). (University of California Press, Berkeley)
Economist Staff :2005, “Tensions with China: The new face of globalisation”, Economist Nov 17th 2005
De George R. T. (2003). The Ethics of Information Technology and Business. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford
Elman B. A. (2000)., A cultural history of civil examinations in late imperial China. University of California Press, Berkeley
Fung, Y. -l.: 1983, (Derk Bodde, translator), History of Chinese Philosophy (Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.)
Hsieh, C. C., Hsieh, Y. C., Lehman, John A., :2003, “Chinese Ethics in Communication, Collaboration, and Digitalization in the Digital Age”, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 18, 3/4.
Husted B. W. (2000). The Impact of National Culture on software piracy. Journal of Business Ethics 26(3):197
Ishihara A., Levy H. (1970). The Tao of Sex An Annotated translation of the twenty-eighth Section of the Essence of Medical Prescriptions (Ishimpô, Yixin Fang). Harrow Books, Harper and Row, NY
Kunkel W., Schermaier M. J. (2005). Römische Rechtsgeschichte. UTB, Stuttgart
Liu W. -c. and Lo Irving Y. (eds) (1976). Sunflower Splendor: Three Thousand Years of Chinese Poetry (Indiana University Press, Bloomington)
Liu Y. (1998). Origins of Chinese Law. Oxford University Press, Hong Kong
MacCormack G. (1996). The Spirit of Traditional Chinese Law. University of Georgia Press, Athens
Mathisen R. (ed.) (1997). Law, Society and Authority in Late Antiquity (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
Mencius: 1990, (James Legge Translator) Reprint edition (Dover Publications, NY).
Needham J. (1970). Science and Civilization in China, Vol 2 Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Pennington Kenneth (1993). The Prince and the Law 1200–1600 University of California Press, Berkeley
Stein P. G. (1997). Römisches Recht und Europa. Fischer, Frankfurt
Wan H., Lu M. -T. (1997). An Analysis of Chinese Laws Against Computer Crimes. Journal of Global Information Management 5(2):16
Wu C. -T. (1973). The Scholars. Foreign Language Press, Beijing
Xunzi: 2003. (Burton Watson, translator) (Columbia University Press, NY.)
Yang D. (2003). Intellectual Property and doing business in China. Pergamon, Amsterdam
Yu, P. K.: 2005, “Still Dissatisfied After all These Years: Intellectual Property, Post-WTO China, and the Avoidable Cycle of Futility”, Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law 34, 143–158.
Zürcher E. (1972). The Buddhist Conquest of China. Brill, Leiden
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dr. Lehman is professor of Business Administration at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he also holdsan appointment in the Department of Philosophy in East Asian philosophy, and serves as Director of International Programs
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lehman, J.A. Intellectual Property Rights and Chinese Tradition Section: Philosophical Foundations. J Bus Ethics 69, 1–9 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9059-8
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9059-8