US victorious over China in Intellectual Property Rights dispute
2/02/2009

On Monday, 26 January 2009, a World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement panel decided in favour of the U.S. on issues relating to China’s Intellectual Property Rights regime. The U.S. alleged that China adopted a slack approach to the enforcement of copyright and trademark violations. The WTO panel agreed and found that certain parts of China’s Intellectual Property scheme are incoherent with its obligations in respect of several international treaties, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) being one such treaty. The panel reported that certain provisions of China’s copyright law are inconsistent with the TRIPS Agreement since they “nullify or impair benefits accruing to the United States.” Peter Allgeier, acting U.S. Trade Representative had the following to say:

“Today, a WTO panel found that a number of deficiencies in China’s Intellectual Property Rights regime are incompatible with its WTO obligations. These findings are an important victory, because they confirm the importance of Intellectual Property Rights protection and enforcement, and clarify key provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. Having achieved this significant legal ruling, we will engage vigorously with China on appropriate corrective actions to ensure that U.S. rights holders obtain the benefits of this decision.”

Wynand Fourie
wynand-f@adamsadams.co.za
CANDIDATE ATTORNEY