The introduction of the Reform and Opening-up policies in 1978 inaugurated a new era for China’s system of intellectual property rights (IPRs). As China undertook economic, social and judicial transformations of unprecedented speed and scope, it also found ways to establish an IPRs regime with its own characteristics. In this context, the evolution of China’s IPRs regime, particularly the legislation and enforcement of IPRs in China, is of considerable research interest to scholars at home and abroad.