MUMBAI: The World Trade Organization issued its decision in the case brought by the United States against China for intellectual property rights violations.
China has been found in violation of two of its responsibilities under international rules on trade and intellectual property, and in partial violation of one more as per WTO. The panel recommended that China alter its copyright law and customs measures to be consistent with its obligations under the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
In response to the same, Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. chairman and CEO Dan Glickman said, "We are thankful to the US officials for their hard work and dedication to this case and are gratified by today’s decision by the WTO. This decision is welcome news for creators as it reinforces the importance of protecting their innovative products. We are pleased that the WTO agreed with the United States that all works must have copyright protection. China restricts access to many legitimate titles, but that doesn’t stop the pirated distribution of virtually all US films in China. The WTO has affirmed that these titles rightly deserve copyright protection."
"At the same time, we are disappointed that the WTO did not accept the strength of the US argument that China’s thresholds for taking criminal action do not deter rampant piracy, which is evident. Yet, we are pleased that the panel did not say China’s thresholds meet international standards," he said.
"Intellectual property theft in China is a serious problem, and our industry is committed to using all available tools to address it. While we recognize that the Chinese government has made efforts to tackle piracy since the filing of the WTO action, much more needs to be done. As such, we will continue to work jointly with the Chinese to resolve these problems and, we look forward to working alongside the Obama administration on this and other international intellectual property issues," Glickman added.
