The US yesterday said it would seek from China a broad array of information on its efforts to crack down on piracy of foreign music, films and software, a move that could set the stage for a dispute settlement case at the World Trade Organisation.

The US, along with Japan and Switzerland, invoked a rarely used WTO provision to request detailed information on how China is using its regulatory and criminal procedures to try to crack down on intellectual property violations. The countries are seeking a complete response no later than January 23 2006.