A case of poacher turned gamekeeper perhaps. China's largest copyright trade centre opened in Beijing today, in a bid to attract -- legitimate -- trade in music, software and other intellectual property...   more »

Danone's increasingly bitter dispute with its Chinese partner, Wahaha, is likely to have an "unfavourable impact" on future sales of the French food group. In an ideal world, the two companies would have gone their separate ways long ago. But Danone wants to continue selling water under the market-leading Wahaha brand and it needs Wahaha's sales and distribution network in China...   more »

French food giant Danone has had a shipment of Evian mineral water seized by Chinese customs officials who found excessive levels of bacteria. It is hard not to see this as a retaliatory move following the recent outcry in the west about adulterated food and drugs exported from China...   more »

Another strange-looking car that you will only see on the roads of China. Actually, the Great Wall Coolbear bears more than a passing resemblance to the equally strange-looking Scion xB, which you will only see on the roads of the US. Imitation, as they say, is the sincerest form of flattery...   more »

Symantec, the US security software firm, has incurred the wrath of Chinese businesses by releasing a flawed software update has caused their PCs to stop working. The Chinese businesses are seeking damages and have apparently learnt quickly from lawsuit-mad US. If only it was so easy for western customers to sue Chinese vendors...   more »

A wonderfully perceptive article from Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, should be required reading for anyone interested in China's new economy. In a few broad brush strokes, Stiglitz summarised the challenges facing China as it evolves from the traditional economic model that has served it so well in the recent past but is now being questioned -- and not just by hawkish politicians in the west...   more »

China has gone on the counter-attack over the increasingly bitter piracy dispute with the US. The Chinese government says US complaints could damage trade relations between the two countries, although the US seems determined to go ahead with its complaints, one over piracy the other concerning access for foreign music, films and books...   more »

Piracy rates of around 95% create a "major challenge" for any company trying to make a profit in China's film and home entertainment market. Nevertheless, there have been some positive developments recently. China's authorities are taking "meaningful steps" to address the country's IPR shortcomings and there is greater support for the cinema sector... Major western titles are often available to the Chinese home movie fan a month before their official release, at far less than the relatively high cost of purchasing a legitimate DVD   more »

Chinese police recently busted an underground factory making fake Viagra pills, showing that the ingenuity of China's piracy industry now stretches far beyond cheap Louis Vuitton bags, mobile phones and DVDs...   more »

One industry issue that was not touched on at 3GSM last week was intellectual property and the growing problem of Chinese copycat phones. EngagingChina talked to several brand-name manufacturers at the show and found they are less than happy at China's apparent chronic inability to do much to stem the flood of copycat phones...    more »