Media Piracy in Contemporary China

Intellectual property rights have been a major point of contention in the relationship of China with its trading partners, and the United States in particular. Chief among the complaints is piracy of American films and television series, with industry estimates indicating that more than ninety per cent of the Chinese audiovisual market is occupied by pirated products. This book addresses copyright piracy in China, providing an in-depth case study of the transformation of international trade law into real outcomes. It draws on a comprehensive overview of Chinese legislation and adjudication, and brings together the previously disparate fields of intellectual property law and media control, and provides a stronger intellectual foundation to their analysis, based on a deep understanding of the Chinese context. The book goes on to argue for a paradigm shift in our evaluation of copyright piracy in China, and provides methodological tools to study these and similar issues in more depth.