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The Heart Of U.S.-China Relations
by Winter Casey
News last week that the United States is seeking World Trade Organization intervention in China over copyright and trademark enforcement shows that the issue goes to the heart of U.S.-China relations, according to a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Intellectual property theft is the central trade issue between the United States and China," CSIS Technology Director James Lewis said. "If the terms of trade are that the Chinese sell us manufactured goods and we sell them ideas, advanced technology and services, this arrangement will only work if there is good IP enforcement. IP theft and piracy tilts the terms of trade to China's advantage."
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has requested that the WTO establish a dispute-settlement panel to address the U.S. accusations that China is not doing enough to protect intellectual property and reduce piracy.
"The United States and China have tried, through formal consultations over the last three months, to resolve differences arising from U.S. concerns about inadequate protection of IP rights in China," USTR spokesman Sean Spicer said in a statement. "That dialogue has not generated solutions to the issues we have raised."
He added that despite "tangible steps" by China in recent years to improve the situation, important gaps remain and need to be addressed. Spicer said the United States also will "continue to work with China bilaterally on other important [intellectual property] issues."
The United States has accused China of violating provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The WTO will consider the U.S. request to establish a dispute-settlement panel at its next meeting, which is scheduled for Aug. 31.
According to Dan Ikenson, associate director of the Cato Institute Center for Trade Policy Studies, "a U.S. panel victory [at the WTO] is far from assured."
The United States wants counterfeiters in China to face criminal liability and for China to improve its border-enforcement procedures. The United States also would like China to give copyright owners more tools to prevent the production of unauthorized copies in China.
The United States further would like the "apparent denial of copyright protection for works poised to enter the market but awaiting Chinese censorship approval" to be addressed. USTR said "it appears that Chinese copyright law provides the copyright holder with no right to complain about copyright infringement ... before censorship approval is granted."
Lewis said the Chinese are upset with the U.S. call for a WTO review. "This is a major step," he said, and the Chinese are "caught in a bind."
China's Xinhua News Agency reported last week that China "regrets" the U.S. decision and has always "stood firm" in protecting intellectual property and solving problems through dialogue.
"Beijing would like to increase enforcement of IP rules, but it really doesn't have the capability to do so," Lewis said. "China was moving in the right direction and it thinks the United States should have given them more time. Moving in the right direction doesn't mean, however, that China hasn't enjoyed reaping the benefits of IP theft, and I don't think the United States had a choice about doing this."
Ikenson said the allegations of IP theft haven't been overblown, "but I do think expectations of a more forceful [intellectual property] regime in China and other developing countries are unrealistic." He said theft is "a cost of doing business that many Western companies have obviously decided to accept."
Representing the Recording Industry Association of America, Neil Turkewitz said China has made some progress on the IP front and Chinese leaders have shown an understanding that IP protection can boost the nation's global competitiveness. "However, some actions, no matter how promising, and some rhetoric, no matter how sweeping and heartfelt, are simply not enough."
In other news, China Daily reports that the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs has listed Samsung, among other companies, on a backlist of water polluters.
Australian Library Gets $1 Million Donation
A regional library system based in Darwin, Australia, has received a $1 million award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the library's innovative approach to deliver computer and Internet technology to remote, indigenous communities, the foundation announced Monday.
Microsoft said it also will donate $224,000 in software and technology training curriculum to upgrade the Northern Territory Library's 300 computers. The library is a network of 33 libraries.
The foundation said most of the territory's "indigenous population lives in extremely isolated areas with very limited services and infrastructure, poor health and economic conditions, and educational levels that are far below national averages." However, the libraries are providing free access to computers and training.
"The community libraries are helping to address the social and economic inequities indigenous communities face," library Director Jo McGill said in a statement. "By connecting people to information and technology, we are giving them the opportunity to improve their lives and participate more fully in their own community and the world in new ways."
The library offers an "Our Story" database that enables local people to archive digital recordings and photographs on library computers.
Canadian Retailers Offered E-Tool To Foster Privacy
The Canadian Office of the Privacy Commissioner has made available an electronic learning tool for retailers. Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart announced Monday that the do-it-yourself, interactive tool will help retailers abide by Canada's privacy laws and safeguard information.
"Small businesses often don't have the money to hire privacy specialists or lawyers to help them figure out how to comply with Canada's privacy legislation," Stoddart said in a statement. "Good privacy compliance doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming."
She added that research has shown that it takes far less money to adequately protect personal information than to respond after a data breach.
The online retailer training session takes about 30 minutes. The tool gives retailers information audits of their businesses, consent provisions required specifically for them, security plans, sample privacy brochures for customers, and assessments of training needs.
Catherine Swift, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said "online training is a valuable tool to help our members build solid privacy practices into their operations."
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