The U.S. government said Wednesday that it has launched an investigative process through the World Trade Organization to obtain information on China’s intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement practices, a move aimed at pressuring Chinese officials to step up efforts to fight piracy.The U.S. Trade Representative’s office stopped short of filing a formal complaint against China. Instead, the office is seeking information on China’s enforcement efforts. The action signals the U.S. government’s concern and could generate evidence for use in a later complaint. “We would like to see a significant drop in the piracy and counterfeit rates. Because we have not, we have taken this step,” a U.S. trade official said in a press briefing. “We would hope that China would view this initiative as an opportunity to demonstrate why they believe their system is effective, and as a constructive tool for identifying any problems that need to be corrected.”An official with the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., could not be immediately reached for comment. The U.S. has asked China to respond to its inquiry within three months. The trade office is seeking an assortment of information on China’s legal actions in IPR cases, including data on the number of claims brought in recent years, the legal grounds for the claims, the nationalities of the plaintiff rights’ holders and on penalties meted out to those convicted. An April 2005 report on worldwide IPR issues published by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office called addressing weak IP protection in China one of the administration’s top trade priorities. Internet piracy and counterfeit manufacture of goods ranging from designer handbags to batteries are occurring at unacceptably high levels, the report said. The office has placed China on its “Priority Watch” list of countries not considered to provide adequate IPR protections. Other countries on the list include Brazil, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey. By Stacy Cowley, IDG News Service Related content feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe