Trade Representative Rob Portman said Washington wants to make sure Russia has strong antipiracy controls before the United States approves a deal for Russia to join the WTO.
Portman said the need for such controls is one lesson that has been learned from the negotiations that led to China's membership in the WTO in 2001.
U.S. makers of film, music, and other intellectual properties are concerned about piracy of their products in both Russia and China.
The International Intellectual Property Alliance says illegal copying in Russia last year cost U.S. companies about $1.76 billion in lost sales. In China, losses were estimated at $2.4 billion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin this week accused the United States of blocking Russia's 13-year-old effort to join the WTO, the group that sets global trade rules.
(Reuters)