The review seeks to assess the point in question in defining the concept of intellectual property in the National English Competition for College Students, 2017 B-Preliminary, which is a nationwide collegiate English contest in a country whose native language is not English. The method of research adopted is to examine the issue from both the linguistic meaning of English and the conceptual perspective of intellectual property, by analyzing the English wording and the specific conceptual meaning it represents. The analysis reveals and identifies that the misunderstanding of the concept of intellectual property is not only a paper error in the arena of language learning, but also a presentation blunder in an academic sense: one simple English word twists the core meaning of intellectual property. Further probes into the matter leads to the hypothesis that the choice of intellectual property as a subject for NECCS might be affected by the international atmosphere at that time: the accusation by Donald Trump that China has committed theft on intellectual property. Deeper investigation into the accusation indicates that Trump’s attitude might have something to do with his personal ten-year legal battle in China on intellectual property—his trademark TRUMP. The ironic conclusion from the analysis shows that the legal articles of the laws of China are fair to Donald Trump but not the interpretation and implementation by the officials
