US targeting China, Russia, 10 others for copyright piracy

WASHINGTON -- China, Russia, and 10 other nations were targeted by the Bush administration for failing to sufficiently protect American producers of music, movies, and other copyrighted material from widespread piracy.

The Bush administration yesterday placed the 12 countries on a "priority watch list" which will subject them to extra scrutiny and could eventually lead to economic sanctions if the administration decides to bring cases before the World Trade Organization.

Another 31 countries were placed on lower level monitoring lists.

The designations occurred in a report that the administration is required to provide Congress each year highlighting problems American companies face worldwide with copyright piracy, which they contend is costing them billions of dollars in lost sales annually.

"We must defend ideas, inventions, and creativity from rip-off artists and thieves," US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab said yesterday.

The administration last month said it was filing two new trade cases against China before the WTO. One of those cases charged that China was lax in enforcing its laws on protecting American copyrights and patents.

The annual report, known as a "Special 301 Report," for the section of US trade law it covers, said China has a special stake in upgrading its protection of intellectual property rights, given that its companies will be threatened by rampant copyright piracy as they increase their own innovation.

For Russia, the report said the United States will be closely watching to see how Russia fulfills the commitments it made to upgrading copyright protection as part of an accord reached last year which was seen as a key milestone in Russia's efforts to join the WTO.

Argentina, Chile, Egypt, India, Israel, Lebanon, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and Venezuela were also placed on the priority watch list