GENEVA – US Trade Representative Rob Portman
announced that the United
States has initiated a special process under World
Trade Organization (WTO) rules today to obtain information on
China’s intellectual property enforcement
efforts.
Japan and
Switzerland joined the
United
States in submitting similar
requests.
“The
United
States is deeply concerned by the violations of
intellectual property rights in China,” said U.S. Trade Representative
Portman. “The development of
intellectual property is one of the driving forces of
U.S. economic competitiveness, and we will
utilize all tools at our disposal to ensure that
U.S. intellectual property rights are
protected.”
“Based on all available information, piracy
and counterfeiting remain rampant in China despite years of engagement on this
issue. If
China believes that it is doing enough to protect
intellectual property, then it should view this process as a chance to prove its
case,” Portman added. "Our goal is to get detailed information that will help
pinpoint exactly where the
enforcement system is breaking down so we can decide appropriate next
steps."
The
United
States is utilizing a process established under
Article 63.3 of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (“TRIPS Agreement”), which, among other things, allows WTO
Members to request information pertaining to judicial decisions or
administrative rulings in the area of intellectual property rights (IPR) that
affect their rights under the TRIPS Agreement. The
U.S. anticipates a response from
China in approximately three
months.
The request will be made available on USTR’s
website at www.ustr.gov.
Background:
As indicated in last year’s Out of Cycle
Review (OCR) of China, published in USTR’s April 29, 2005, Special
301 Report, industry sources believe that China’s inadequate IPR enforcement is
resulting in infringement levels of approximately 90 percent or above for
virtually every form of intellectual property. USTR observed at that time that “lack of
transparent information on IPR infringement levels and enforcement activities in
China continues to be an acute problem.” The Special 301 Report noted expressions
of concern by several industry groups about the Chinese Government’s
unwillingness to provide sufficiently detailed enforcement information. The OCR results also noted that “when
criminal prosecutions are pursued, a lack of transparency makes it difficult to
ascertain whether they resulted in convictions and, if so, what penalties were
imposed.” As a consequence, USTR
announced its intent to invoke Article 63.3 of the TRIPS
Agreement.
The
U.S. request seeks to obtain a more
complete picture of China’s intellectual property enforcement efforts
since 2001. The U.S. transparency
request calls upon the Chinese government to make available detailed information
concerning the application of criminal, administrative, and civil remedies for
infringement cases that affect U.S. right holders.
China’s promise to “substantially reduce IPR
infringement” during bilateral talks in April 2004 has yielded mixed
results. Recent commitments made
during July’s bilateral talks have proven promising. Data collected from the Article 63.3
transparency request will help to evaluate
China’s progress implementing its commitments to
substantially reduce counterfeiting and piracy.
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