The US has claimed victory in a groundbreaking World Trade Organization (WTO) case against China for failing to protect and enforce copyrights and trademarks on a wide range of goods, according to Reuters.
'Today, a WTO panel found that a number of deficiencies in China's IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) regime are incompatible with its WTO obligations,' acting US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier said in a statement. 'We will engage vigorously with China on appropriate corrective actions to ensure that US rights holders obtain the benefits of this decision.'
Washington launched the dispute in 2007. The International Intellectual Property Alliance, a coalition of US music, movie, book and software industry groups, conservatively estimates that piracy in China costs them more than $3.7 billion in lost sales.
The WTO ruling means China and other nations 'can't simply go through the motions' of protecting intellectual property, but must provide effective results, Neil Turkewitiz, an executive vice president at the Recording Industry Association of America, said in a statement, quoted by Reuters.