(18 December 2006 11:30 pm)

MUMBAI: China has signed an agreement with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Business Software Alliance, Association of American Publishers and Britain's Publishers Association to fight against online piracy of intellectual property.

The National Copyright Administration (NCA) of China has signed the deal, reports state. These groups have agreed to provide the NCA with a list of items that they wish to see protected, such as movies, video and audio, software, and published works.

The NCA media reports state has, in return, agreed to investigate reported cases of piracy and keep in regular communication with the trade groups regarding copyright issues.

Reports add that piracy was a focus of two days of talks recently between US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the Chinese government.