In anticipation of the formulation of a patent and trademark law by the legislative organs of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), attention in Chinese legal literature has frequently focused in recent years on the function of patent and trademark laws in China’s Marxist economy. To a large extent, these recent writings focus on the paradox of incorporating into a socialist legal system laws with grant to individuals exclusive ownership rights to intellectual property. The manner in in which this paradox is resolved will no doubt mold the future of industrial property law in China.