sharing of experiences related to IPR enforcement to ensure effective implementation of enforcement obligations.
WTO Dispute Settlement
The United States will continue pursuing the resolution of WTO-related disputes announced in previous Special 301 reviews and determinations. The most efficient and therefore preferred manner of resolving our concerns is through bilateral dialogue. Where these efforts are unsuccessful, the United States will not hesitate to use the dispute settlement procedures, as appropriate.
In April 2007, the United States requested WTO dispute settlement consultations with China over deficiencies in China's legal regime for protecting and enforcing copyrights and trademarks on a wide range of products. After those consultations failed to resolve the matter, the United States requested the establishment of a WTO panel. A WTO panel was established to examine this matter on September 25, 2007. On March 20, 2009, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body ("DSB") adopted a panel report ruling in favor of the United States that found (1) China's denial of copyright protection to works that do not meet China's content review standards is impermissible under the TRIPS Agreement; and (2) China's Customs rules cannot allow seized counterfeit goods to be publicly auctioned after only removing the infringing mark. With respect to the third claim concerning China's thresholds for criminal prosecution and conviction of counterfeiting and piracy, while the United States prevailed on the interpretation of the important legal standards in Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement, including the finding that criminal enforcement measures must reflect and respond to the realities of the commercial marketplace, the panel found that it needed additional evidence before it could uphold the overall U.S. claim that China's criminal thresholds are too high. On April 15, 2009, China notified the DSB that China intended to implement the recommendations and rulings of the DSB in this dispute, and stated it would need a reasonable period of time for implementation. On June 29, 2009, the United States and China notified the DSB that they had agreed on a one-year period of time for implementation, to end on March 20, 2010. The United States is working with China on its implementation of the DSB recommendations and rulings in this dispute.
In addition, the United States requested WTO dispute settlement consultations with China concerning certain other Chinese measures affecting distribution and market access for publications, movies, and music. These measures appear to be inconsistent with various WTO obligations of China. The U.S. claims challenged China's prohibition on foreign companies importing all of the products, China's prohibitions and discriminatory requirements imposed on foreign distributors of publications, music, and videos within China, and China's imposition of more burdensome requirements on the distribution of imported publications, movies, and music vis-à-vis their domestic counterparts. As the United States and China were unable to resolve this dispute in these consultations, the United States filed a request for the establishment of a WTO panel. A WTO panel was established to examine this matter on November 27, 2007. On August
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