Dyson Warns China Could Lose WTO Status

10 October 2012

British inventor James Dyson told China that it could be expelled from the World Trade Organization (WTO) due to continued counterfeiting of products by manufacturers in the country. Dyson, who sits on the prime minister’s business advisory group, warned Chinese leaders days before a joint UK-China intellectual property forum in London on December 8.

In an article by Guardian industrial editor Dan Milmo, Dyson said that China’s reputation among foreign investors is being diminished by the flouting of product copyrights and a two-speed patent system that appears to discriminate against non-Chinese applications.

“They are running the risk of being expelled from the WTO. They are creating an unlevel playing field by taking our technology and selling it all over the world,” he said.

Dyson cited, in particular, a recent case in China where his company successfully sued a firm manufacturing a copy of its bladeless electronic fan.

“We had to put a private detective in their factory and take photos of them making the fans,” he told the Guardian. “Then we won the case and they were fined $7,500 but they didn’t pay the fine and they just carried on.” The newspaper reported that Dyson is pursuing 20 design or patent cases around the world, many of them related to the distribution and sale of products made in China.