Abstract: Based on the practical manifestation of corruption in the field of intellectual property rights， the characteristics of the types of “traditional corruption”， “hidden corruption” and “grey corruption” are analyzed and the social harms are studied in terms of impairing the integrity of public power， deviating from the orientation of encouraging innovation， disturbing the order of market competition， impairing the legal rights and interests of the subjects， and affecting the international image of China， and etc. The study found that the phenomenon of intellectual property corruption will be long-term existence in a certain period， and is characterized by diverse forms， spiral repeated development， and a certain fluctuation. The reasons of such corruption are explored including the natural relationship between intellectual property rights and public power， the inadequacy of examination and approval mechanisms and security systems， and the serious imbalance of the cost-benefit ratio of corruption. Accordingly， corruption in the field of intellectual property rights should be handled by perfecting the guarantee system of “examination and approval”， “rights”， “supervision” and “punishment”.

Key words: corruption; intellectual property rights; power supervision; corruption governance