Despite significant advances in terms of the adoption of formal Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection, enforcement of and compliance with IPR regulations remains a contested issue in one of the world's major contemporary economies—China. The present review seeks to offer insights into possible reasons for this discrepancy as well as possible paths of future development by reviewing prior literature on IPR in China. Specifically, it focuses on the public's perspective, which is a crucial determinant of the effectiveness of any IPR regime. It uncovers possible differences with public perspectives in other countries and points to mechanisms (e.g., political, economic, cultural, and institutional) that may foster transitions over time in both formal IPR regulation and in the public perception of and compliance with IPR in China. On this basis, the review advances suggestions for future research in order to improve scholars' understanding of the public's perspective of IPR in China, its antecedents and implications.
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