In a recent court decision in China, nine people involved in counterfeiting Lego bricks were sentenced to between 3 and 6 years in prison and fined a total of over US$42 million. Over 4 million boxes of unauthorised Lego products were manufactured and sold by the counterfeiting gang in an 18-month period.

Whilst many still cling to the belief that IP rights in China are of limited value, the Chinese courts have repeatedly shown their willingness to clamp down on IP infringement and this latest Lego decision shows that the authorities are becoming increasingly IP friendly. This is a clear message to potential infringers that things are tightening up and there are consequences to infringing IP rights. In view of the progress in Chinese IP law enforcement in the last few years and the size of the potential market there, China really is a territory to be considered when looking at territories for patent protection.