According to an article in Forbes.com, in the recent U.S.-China dispute about anti-piracy, the WTO’s dispute resolution panel ruled Monday that some of China’s copyright law and enforcement measures violate the WTO’s intellectual property rights regime and thus “nullify or impair benefits accruing to the United States under that Agreement,” in a decision posted on its Web site.
Washington claims that the trade body took its side in a suit against China, yet the decision will not halt intellectual property theft. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative claimed Monday that the WTO has agreed that China’s rampant piracy problem is a breach of its treaty obligations, giving the U.S. extra muscle to press China for financial compensation. But it seems that the WTO actually demurred on a key U.S. argument, the one with the most bite: that Chinese law is not harsh enough on punishing counterfeiters. Washington has obtained “an important victory,” U.S. Trade Representative Peter Allgeier announced. However, “The United States has not established that the criminal thresholds are inconsistent with China’s obligations” under WTO, the panel said. That part is “disappointing,” Allgeier conceded in his statement.
Piracy debate or dispute is a significant issue between China and U.S. Before China’s entry into the WTO, U.S. always attacked the China’s intellectual protection in accordance with “Special 301”. But this time, the U.S. settled the trade-related dispute in the WTO Dispute Settlement System.
Even though there is a shift of U.S. government this year, it doesn’t change the viewpoint of the U.S government on intellectual protection issue.
Since intellectual protection law belongs to domestic law, it can’t go beyond our economic development. We could not just keep pace with the developed countries’ standard on intellectual protection.