WTO Decision on IPR Dispute
In January 2009, a WTO dispute settlement panel ruled on an IPR dispute the U.S. brought against China in April 2007. The U.S. argued that China violated its obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS Agreement”) in three ways, namely, failure to provide copyright protection of works banned in China, the unlawful re-release of seized counterfeit goods, and a failure to set proper thresholds for criminal prosecution of counterfeiting and piracy. The panel ruled in favor of the U.S. for the first two claims, ordering China to amend its copyright law and customs rules.
