America used to be the world’s premier technology innovator and China its best duplicator. But the roles are shifting, as has been shown by two major business stories of 2020: the signing of phase one of a US-China trade agreement, and the battle between Google and the wireless speaker maker Sonos.
The administration of US president Donald Trump touted the former as a major concession by China, which has vowed to strengthen its intellectual property protection. In fact, the deal merely repackages changes that China has already made over the past two years, strengthening court jurisdiction over IP cases and making it easier for US companies to collect damages.
It is telling that American chipmaker Qualcomm was able to win its multi-continental lawsuits against Apple for non-essential patent infringement in part because it decided to pursue the case in Germany and China rather than the US. It was easier to get injunctive relief in those countries. The fact that China was quicker to enforce Qualcomm’s patents than the US is a sign of the changing times.