Does weak intellectual property rights protection deter investment in R&D? Evidence from the tea industry in China

This article gives an example of an industry where process R&D is not deterred by a lack of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). We observe that the imitation driven by this lack of IPR acts as a source of competitive pressure on the technological leader who responds by increasing its process R&D. We also find that when IPR are introduced in that industry, firms switch from process to product innovation.