How the Copyright Law Was ( Not) Made: Intellectual Property and China's Contested Reintegration with Global Capitalism

This article reconceptualizes the history of intellectual property in China since the 1970s, with a focus on the making and amending of the Copyright Law. It argues that intellectual property is a deliberate policy choice and a key part of China's market and media reform. Chinese reformers' pursuit of a Western developmental model as well as the rise of intellectuals and private businesses both contributed to and shaped copyright development, while the roles of ideological conflicts and foreign trade frictions were less significant than generally assumed. This research argues that intellectual property must be conceptualized historically against China's contested reintegration with global capitalism.