Intellectual property of foreign experts can include patents, book copyrights, technology property rights, or trademarks, and in this, China follows a practice of treating foreigners (including foreign experts) as Chinese nationals.

As China’s legal system improves and laws on intellectual property rights are enforced, intellectual property rights of foreigners are effectively protected. China’s laws and regulations on intellectual property rights are mainly the Patent Law, the Trademark Law, and the Copyright Law.

The Chinese government has participated in international intellectual property rights actions and in international negotiations of important treaties, and has signed many multilateral or bilateral agreements, and China follows its international obligations in this.

It must also be noted that any inventions that involve an employer’s work or using an employer’s resources are deemed service inventions and creations and any related patent has the employer as the holder. Also, if inventions and creations involve an employer’s resources and they have a signed contract with the inventor or designer specifying the patent rights and ownership, those conditions will prevail.