Liu Jianwei, 31, deputy general manager of an international trade company in Shanghai

As an international trade practitioner, IPRs mean a lot to me.

I have learned from our foreign partners and day-to-day business to create a business-friendly and IPR-aware environment.

Not long ago, my company had a sort of international purchase deal with a UK-based corporation. The UK side would provide designs and we were responsible for seeking a domestic factory to manufacture the products.

Prior to the formal negotiations, we were asked by the UK company to sign an agreement to protect the knowledge of the drawing, which requires that the drawings could not be shown to a third party without permission.

It was a good example for us and we have gradually learned to pay quite a lot attention to IPRs while purchasing products for our foreign partners from domestic factories.

Besides the questions concerning price and delivery, intellectual property is key to the negotiation.

We clarify and confirm technological innovations and technology transfers with producers to better protect intellectual property rights.

We reject any deal in which products are pirated.

We understand that trademarks are the non-tangible property of a company.

The concept of IPR is still young in China. Since intellectual property rules are part of the trading system in the international arena, we have to pay more attention to them in our approach to business.

Murray Ward, 30, an Australian who studies Chinese in Beijing

IPR is one of the biggest issues facing companies which want to do business in China, a country which is receiving the largest amount of foreign direct investment in the world.

Foreign companies are losing a heap of money due to IPR problems.

There are laws in place in China aimed at protecting intellectual property, but there may be problems with the way they are being enforced and followed through.

The government has to ensure that IPRs can be protected, and that the penalties for infringement are tough enough to deter further violations.

I do not shop that much, yet I can tell that cheap and pirated CDs and products can still be found in the market.

I supposed that when they are not available it means the rights are well protected.

It is true that there are lots of countries in the world where you can get pirated products.

Some Chinese people do not have a sense of intellectual property protection. They want to make money, so they do not concern themselves with laws and regulations.

More work is needed to promote IPRs in China and it will take a long time for things to change.

I am not an expert on IPR protection and I am not sure about the situation back in Australia but I assume it is not too bad.

However, it is impossible to compare, the two countries are so different and they come from such different beginnings.

Yin Yu, 25, an office worker in Beijing

I used to be a stranger in the field of IPR, however, until I helped translate a series of Chinese news items concerning IPR protection into English not long ago. Now I have a new perspective on the topic.

Now I know that IPR takes a number of forms, for example books, paintings, music and films come under copyright. Inventions can be patented, brand names and product logos can be registered as trademarks.

"This is the right to give creators an incentive to produce ideas that will benefit society as a whole."

I didn't come up with that statement, I memorized it from those news stories.

I am a fan of karaoke and I like to go to Cashbox, a popular karaoke hall in the city. I never think about IPR when I am there and having fun.

Then I translated that piece of news in the Youth Reference. It said since March 1, this year, about 10,000 karaoke halls have received letters from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which required them to stop violating the copyright on television music videos from nearly 50 large music companies and demanded compensation.

It has been said that if a compromise cannot be reached the violators will be prosecuted.

I understand that society will benefit in the long term when intellectual property protection is encouraged but in our daily life people keep on buying pirated goods because they are much cheaper.

As an ordinary resident, I am willing to buy original stuff but sometimes it is just incredibly expensive.

Moreover, some original DVDs are not even available in the market.

I am a fan of music and films and I do wish that the price of the original DVD or CD would go down to a level acceptable to the majority of the public.

(China Daily 11/08/2004 page5)