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Resistance, Evasion, and Inequality: Legal Consciousness of Intellectual Property Laws in Two Chinese Markets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2017

Lillian Hsiao-Ling SU
Lillian Hsiao-Ling SU*
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Abstract

How does an intellectual property (IP) legal regime affect those who make their living on counterfeit commodities, and in return how do these people respond to the implementation of IP laws? In this ethnographic study, I analyze the effects of an IP legal regime in two Chinese markets, and use legal consciousness theories and methods to show how this legal regime results in greater social inequality. While the majority of business owners in my study engage in counterfeiting, their tactics in response to the enforcement of IP laws vary significantly. Small shopkeepers at one market, the primary target of enforcement, adopt the legal consciousness of resistance. Established trademark and logo owners at the other market adopt tactics of evasion to maintain the appearance of lawful practices. I argue that these two types of tactics embody different forms of legal consciousness. The divergent tactical responses strengthen the second group of business owners who have greater power and resources at the expense of the first group who have less, thus aggravating their socioeconomic disparities.

Keywords

legal consciousnesssocial inequalityintellectual propertytrademark lawthe stateChina
Type
Legal Consciousness in Asia
Information
Asian Journal of Law and Society , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , May 2018 , pp. 69 - 89
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2018 

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