WTO report deals blow to US in China case
02 February 2009
Peter Ollier, Hong Kong
The WTO’s panel report in the contentious US-China IP case has confirmed that the USTR lost on the key issue of whether China’s thresholds for criminal IP enforcement are too high
The 147-page report, published on January 26, was hailed by Acting US Trade Representative Peter Allegier as “an important victory” but he admitted disappointment over the claims made over China’s criminal enforcement.
When it launched the case in April 2007, the USTR made three complaints: that China is denying copyright protection to books and films that have not been authorised by the censors; that China is not disposing of infringing goods in a way that complies with Article 59 of TRIPs; and that the country’s system of thresholds for criminal IP enforcement allows commercial scale piracy and counterfeiting.
The findings of the report are the same as those of a preliminary report that was leaked last October.
The USTR won on the first complaint, with the panel stating that China’s policy of denying copyright protection to works that failed censorship review breached the Berne...
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