TOKYO (Kyodo) - Japan will work with the United States, the European Union and several other countries to institute what will be the first international treaty aimed at stemming production and sale of fake brand goods and illegal copies of movies and music software, Japanese trade officials said Saturday.
The envisaged pact would require participating countries to ban exports of those products as well as to establish procedures for scrapping and seizing manufacturing facilities.
Tokyo aims to reach a basic agreement on the treaty at the summit of the Group of Eight nations next July in Japan, making the protection of intellectual property a major topic on the summit agenda along with global warming, they said.
Japan and the United States began preparing for drafting the pact last summer, the officials said. The European Union, Canada and Switzerland have also joined in talks since the beginning of this year.
The four countries and the European Union have confirmed a plan to start full-fledged talks jointly with several other countries including Australia and Singapore. A total of 10 to 15 countries may participate in the talks, the officials said.
Major challenges include stemming production and distribution in China, Russia and developing economies. Japan and the United States have agreed to urge the countries to extend cooperation, the Japanese officials said.
Japan made a pitch for establishing a treaty against production and sale of counterfeit goods at the Gleneagles summit in Scotland in 2005.
