JAPAN

Video Counterfeiting Alleged: The office of the U.S. trade representative is reviewing a request for trade action on a dispute between video game maker Nintendo and a Taiwanese firm. Nintendo of America, a subsidiary of the Japanese electronics giant Nintendo Ltd., petitioned the U.S. government last week, alleging that Taiwan had failed to stop the counterfeiting of its video games. The complaint charged that Taiwanese firms sell semiconductor chips containing Nintendo of America’s copyrighted games to assemblers, who then export the games. The bulk of the chips used in the counterfeit game cartridges, it alleges, are manufactured by United Microelectronics Corp., a Taiwanese company. The U.S. trade representative has until April 26 to determine which countries--if any--should be designated as targets for special negotiations aimed at correcting violations of intellectual property rights laws.