Reportedly, China is exploiting its courts to weaken the protection of foreign intellectual-property rights

The US and European Union officials are accusing China of using its courts and patent panels to undermine foreign intellectual-property rights and to support Chinese businesses, especially in essential industries such as technology, pharmaceuticals, and rare-earth minerals.

The accusation comes as a US manufacturer of X-ray equipment had a decade-old patent invalidated by a Chinese legal panel, while a Spanish mobile antenna designer lost a similar fight in a Shanghai court. Additionally, another Chinese court ruled that a Japanese conglomerate broke antitrust law by refusing to license its technology to a Chinese rival.