Dear President Bush:
We are writing to express our serious concern with the lack of adequate and effective enforcementof China’s intellectual property rights (IPR) laws. We recognize that China has made progress sincejoining the World Trade Organization in 2001, particularly in adopting a wide range of legalmeasures. However, significant deficiencies remain.
In April 2004, the Chinese Government promised to “substantially reduce IPR infringement" byincreasing criminal prosecutions of IPR violations, conducting enforcement actions, and launching a national education campaign. Instead of decreasing violations, piracy and counterfeiting continueat, what USTR calls, “epidemic levels." We have seen an increase in exports of pirated goods fromChina. And there are continued reports of widespread Chinese government use of pirated software.IPR infringement in China is having a real impact on U.S. companies in a wide range of industries,including motion pictures, software, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, information technology, andconsumer goods. According to certain estimates, piracy alone accounts for roughly $2.5 to $3.8billion in losses to the U.S. industry.
We need to see immediate results to eradicate these problems in China. Unfortunately, the Chinesegovernment does not seem fully committed to doing so. Recently, the Chinese government issueda white paper, which praised China’s progress on IPR issues. The paper noted that, “while adheringto the international rules on IPR protection, China has decided on a level of IPR protection appropriate for its own national situation."
China cannot unilaterally establish its own measures for judging its success in dealing with its IPRcrisis. Instead, as a signatory to the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), Chinese progress must be judged by the same standards all WTO Members.
We urge your Administration to intensify your efforts to ensure China’s compliance with its TRIPS obligations, including, as appropriate, through WTO dispute settlement. We look forward to working with you to improve the IPR environment in China. Thank you for your ongoing attention to these important concerns.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Max Baucus Orrin G. Hatch
John D. Rockefeller IV Trent Lott
Kent Conrad Olympia J. Snowe
James M. Jeffords Jon Kyl
Jeff Bingaman Craig Thomas
John F. Kerry Rick Santorum
Blanche L. Lincoln Bill Frist
Ron Wyden Gordon Smith
Charles E. Schumer Jim Bunning Mike Crapo
Source: Ranking Member’s News
