The World Trade Organization has ruled that China was violating international trade rules with its restrictions on importing U.S. music, movies and books. The ruling comes after a complaint from U.S. government officials that China was unfairly blocking IP goods. Suppliers had complained for years that the import controls were part of what led to widespread piracy of music and movies.
The following statement can be attributed to Computer & Communications Industry Association President & CEO Ed Black:
“We’re pleased with the ruling as it improves access to information for Chinese citizens and can help clear up problems that were contributing to the piracy of music and movies. The U.S. government took on a legitimate concern of U.S. innovators trying to do business in China. This is a good first step, but other U.S. innovators continue to face trade barriers. We look forward to the U.S. government continuing the fight not just against limiting hard information goods like a copyrighted song, but also attempts by China to block U.S. companies from offering information services on the Internet.”