US plans WTO charge on China piracy goods

WASHINGTON -- The United States may file a complaint at the World Trade Organization as early as next week over what it calls China's piracy of copyrighted movies and books, four people briefed by the Bush administration said.

Officials have prepared two cases, one saying China sets too high a value on pirated movie or music disks before prosecuting violators, and another objecting to restrictions on the sale of foreign books and movies there, they said. The people, three industry officials and one lawyer, spoke on condition they not be identified.

China's illegal copying of movies, music, and software cost companies $2.2 billion in 2006 sales, say lobby groups representing Microsoft, Walt Disney, and Vivendi SA. The WTO complaints would be the first by the United States against China for breaching intellectual property rights.

China's 2006 US trade surplus widened to a record $232.5 billion, prompting US House members to blame the gap in part on piracy of copyrighted and patented goods. In a letter to President Bush, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers said "no country in the world has done more to undermine American intellectual property than China."