Andre Yoskowitz
13 Oct 2008 20:58
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has made a split decision on a year old complaint filed by the US against China over piracy concerns.
The panel concluded that China was responsible for not prosecuting pirates who copy CDs and DVDs. The news was not all good for the US however as the panel also concluded that
"Chinese thresholds for prosecuting piracy do not break WTO rules."
The thresholds allow pirates of anything from clothing to medicine to avoid any prosecution as long as it is under 500 infringing copies.
A third issue, that of whether "seized goods can be reintroduced into the market if the infringing material is removed" was more confusing but a US trade official says the US won on that count.
Washington has been complaining for years that China is a safe haven for product piracy, especially on a commercial scale. "Over the past several years, China has taken tangible steps to improve (intellectual property rights) protection and enforcement. However, we still see important gaps that need to be addressed," Sean Spicer, spokesman for U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, said in a statement last year.
China has said that the case being brought to the WTO could possibly damage trade relations between the countries. The US is the largest importer from China for all types of products.