How To Deal With Piracy In China

Shaun Rein writes in Forbes:

At a recent World Media Summit in Beijing Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corp., exhorted China to clamp down on copyright infringement. Murdoch is right that piracy is a huge problem in China. Pirated DVDs, fake Ralph Lauren shirts, and cracked software are everywhere. Pushing the Chinese government the way Murdoch did, however, is unlikely to have any meaningful effect.

Most Chinese believe they should have the same access to products the developed world has even when they can't afford them. Why should the West get ahead by having better technologies, the reasoning goes.

 

What can you do if your China operations are hit by piracy? Should you turn a blind eye and think of it as brand exposure? Should you spend money battling in Chinese courts? Here are some key thoughts to keep in mind:

First, China's piracy problem is not a matter of morality. More than anything, it is a matter of poverty.