China WTO: US Chamber says China piracy is "widespread"

22 September 2004 19:35  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (CNI)--Chinese piracy of US intellectual property is “widespread and brazen,” the US Chamber of Commerce (CoC ) said Wednesday and urged Beijing to resolve the problem or face a possible formal complaint in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

 

The CoC, a major private US business trade association not connected with the US government, said today that Chinese piracy of US products, processes and technology cuts across “so many sectors” of US business and exports.

 

US chemicals manufacturers have filed comments with CoC concerning Chinese piracy. Among other examples, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) said one of its member firms that had built a chemical plant in China saw the entire facility, its processes and products pirated when a domestic Chinese chemicals firm simply copied the US-built facility and went into competition against the US firm.

 

In a press conference here to issue its third annual report on China’s compliance with WTO mandates as part of China’s entry to the world of trading nations, the CoC said it will devote increasing attention to intellectual property rights (IPR) in China.

 

Myron Brilliant, CoC vice president for East Asia, told a press conference here that in order to advance IPR concerns of US companies, the CoC intends to open offices in China “sooner rather than later.”

 

Saying that securing IPR for US companies in China is “absolutely critical” to China’s entry into the family of trading nations, Brilliant said CoC will likely establish offices in Beijing and Shanghai. He did not have a specific timetable for the move. The only overseas offices now maintained by CoC are in Brussels and Hong Kong.

 

Ray Sander, senior vice president for international government affairs at New York Life International, said that CoC would be making a “significant investment of time and money” to establish CoC presence in China, but the move is “essential” to help ensure establishment of IPR in China. Sander is co-chairman of the CoC Asia task force.

 

Brilliant said that China is working on lowering the liability threshold for criminal prosecution in IPR violation cases, but that new and lower liability standards promised by Beijing for this month are being postponed to December. In addition, he said, “those lower liability standards are not as low as they need to be.”

 

“We want decisive action” by China on IPR, Brilliant said. “If there are no criminal prosecutions [by China] for IPR violations,” he said, “there is no deterrence to IPR violations.”

 

Questioned whether CoC would file a formal trade violations complaint against China before the WTO, Brilliant said that “engagement of China is the best course of action.” But he also emphasized that CoC and others have the option to file WTO action complaints against China before Beijing’s 5-year WTO entry compliance period expires at the end of 2006. “China must understand,” he added, “that time is ticking on this issue.”

 

As part of CoC’s third annual review of China’s WTO compliance process, CoC officials and US business leaders highlighted other ongoing problems in China, including continuing trade barriers and distribution issues.

 

The US Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation and includes many US chemicals and plastics companies among its 3m member firms.

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

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