Dr Tim Moore, CEO of SGAI Tech Ltd - a first of a kind joint venture between Sagentia and Chinese manufacturer AML - provides insights into protecting your IP in China, from first hand experience.
Many companies in the West outsource manufacturing to 'third world' countries in order to cut costs. Now they are looking to obtain further cost benefits by also outsourcing product development and design. This is not without its problems - and chief among these is the difficulty of protecting intellectual property (IP). China offers not just low cost manufacturing and product development but also, because of the legal and cultural framework in Hong Kong, a more secure environment than most non-Western countries. Risks of IP theft do still remain, however, and companies should take sensible precautions.