WASHINGTON, April 29: The United States said on Friday it was putting China on a blacklist of countries guilty in its view of “rampant” copyright abuses and warned that WTO action could follow. The US Trade Representative’s office, unveiling an annual report on protection of intellectual property rights, said China was being put on a “Priority Watch List.”

The “Special 301” report “concludes that infringement levels remain unacceptably high throughout China, in spite of Beijing’s efforts to reduce them,” the USTR said in a statement.

Another 13 countries were placed on this year’s watch list as a preliminary step toward potential sanctions if they do not mend their ways. They were Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey and Venezuela.

Acting US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier acknowledged that China’s leadership was trying to curb piracy of US goods.

But he added: “China must take action to address rampant piracy and counterfeiting, including increasing the number of criminal IPR cases and further opening its market to legitimate copyright and other goods.

“We will work closely with US industry and other stakeholders, with an eye toward utilizing WTO procedures to bring China into compliance with its trade obligations,” he said.

Officials said the reference to legal action at the World Trade Organization was a sign of US exasperation over the issue, following the conclusion of a special USTR review of Chinese IPR protection.

“The language is pretty strong compared to what’s been said in the past. This is the first time that the WTO link is being made,” one official said on condition of anonymity.

China is under growing pressure from foreign governments to clean up widespread IPR theft ranging from pirated software and DVDs to fake copies of brand-name clothes and shoes.

The communist government admitted on Thursday that copyright or IPR infringement is “very serious” in some sectors of its economy, but said it faced a difficult task trying to improve protection.—AFP