The Bush administration announced Oct. 23 plans to negotiate an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement with other major countries that would heighten efforts to confront copyright piracy.

The other countries involved are Canada, the 27-nation European Union, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and Switzerland.

The new rules would complement current copyright piracy rules overseen by the World Trade Organization and would set a higher benchmark for enforcement that countries will be able to join on a voluntary basis.

“Global counterfeiting and piracy steal billions of dollars from workers, artists and entrepreneurs each year and jeopardize the health and safety of citizens across the world,” said U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab at a Capitol Hill news conference.

Senate Finance Committee Max Baucus said in a statement, “Ideas are America's true currency and if we want to be economically competitive, strong protections for U.S. intellectual property are key.”

The copyright agreement will focus on three major areas: cooperation among countries, best practices for fighting copyright piracy and developing a strong legal framework to prosecute violations of intellectual property rights.