U.S. may ask World Trade Organization to act on piracy in China

March 6, 2006

James
Mendenhall, general counsel of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
said in Beijing last week: that the United States may file a Complaint with the
World trade organization, if Chinas government does not take affirmative action
against violations of intellectual property.

China's
government has to "dramatically reduce" violations of intellectual
property or the United States will not hesitate to take China to a dispute
settlement at the World Trade Organization, James Mendenhall, general
counsel of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said in
Beijing.

"If we were to conclude that the dispute
settlement is the best solution in dealing with China, we will not shy
away from that," Mendenhall said during a lunch hosted by the U.S.
business community in Beijing.

Mendenhall was in Beijing for three days
of talks with Chinese officials over intellectual-property rights and
other issues, including removing trade barriers to foreign auto parts.
U.S. officials and lawmakers say rampant piracy is contributing to the
nation's surging trade deficit with China.

The report went on to say that Microsoft claimed losing as much as
$60 billion a year because of the abundance of fake goods worldwide. It was also
reported that a staggering 90 percent of software used in China is pirated,
according to researcher IDC and the Business Software Alliance (funded by
Microsoft). They went on to say that DVD copies of Hollywood movies sell openly
on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai for as little as $1 apiece.

Source: Philly.com