Abstract:
Despite the existence of multilateral agreements such as those operating under the World
Trade Organisation ('WTO'), the liberalisation of free trade and investment between
nations in more recent times has been nurtured through the device of bilateral free trade
agreements. This article considers but one aspect of such agreements in the context of
the proposed Australia-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), namely the intellectual
property provisions, and more specifically the protection of trade marks. The
implications for Australian interests are significant, particularly in the face of a troubled
intellectual property enforcement regime in China. In negotiating an FTA with China,
Australia must be apprised of and fully understand China's' enforcement problems in
order to arrive at appropriate means to curb trade mark infringement. To this end, a
number of measures are suggested in this article with the aim of improving enforcement
of intellectual property rights in China.
