GENEVA, Jan 26: The World Trade Organisation on Monday ruled against China in a copyright protection dispute with the United States -- a move hailed by Washington as “an important victory.”

“The Panel recommends ... that China bring the Copyright Law and the Customs measures into conformity with its obligations,” the WTO dispute settlement panel said in the ruling. The clash over intellectual property was the fourth case involving a formal US challenge to trade practices in China, whose ballooning trade surplus and handling of counterfeit goods has in recent years been a political flashpoint.

The United States had claimed in its complaint first filed in 2007 that Beijing’s legal structure for protecting and enforcing copyright and trademark protections is unfairly deficient and does not comply with WTO rules.—AFP