Sources from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia: Australian Trade Minister Warren Truss indicated recently that his country has decided to participate as a third party in the World Trade Organization dispute brought by the United States against China on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, the Australian Government Minister for Trade.

Several other WTO members, including Mexico, Japan and European Union, have also decided to become third parties.

Truss noted that the case raised important commercial and systemic issues in relation to WTO rules on intellectual property protection, including the meaning of counterfeiting or piracy "on a commercial scale." He added that participation as a third party does not mean Australia is taking sides in the case. However, it allows Australia to register its views on the legal issues raised in the dispute.

The WTO dispute system explicitly allows for participation by third parties with a substantive interest in the matters raised in a dispute. Such participation is common practice amongst WTO members. China itself has been a third party more than 40 times since joining the WTO in 2001.

Australia regularly participates as a third party in WTO cases where it has an interest. Current examples include the US and EU's cases against each other on civil aircraft subsidies, the US's case against India on duties applicable to wine and other imports, and the EU's case against Brazil on bans of imports of retreaded tyres.

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