Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Internet companies led by Google Inc. joined groups representing Web users in challenging the Bush administration's bid to toughen international enforcement against copyright pirates.

Testifying before Commerce Department in Washington today, Google urged the U.S. to exclude from a proposed treaty provisions on the sale of copyrighted movies and music on the Internet. The administration is negotiating the treaty with the European Union, Japan and other nations.

The companies said the U.S. courts and Congress are still working out the correct balance between protecting copyrights and the free exchange of information on the Web and a treaty could be counterproductive. They also said their views deserve equal consideration with those of the movie and recording industries.

``There's this assumption that what is good for Disney is what's good for America, but that's an oversimplification,'' Jonathan Band, an intellectual property lawyer representing libraries and high-tech companies, said in an interview. ``There's also what's good for Yahoo and Google.''

The proposed treaty is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The dispute over the accord pits companies like Google, under pressure to crack down on unlicensed distribution of film clips and music videos, against movie and music producers worried about the growth of Internet piracy in countries such as China and Russia.

The U.S., Japan, Canada and other nations said last year that they would begin negotiations on an agreement aimed at cracking down on counterfeiting of such goods as watches and pharmaceuticals and the piracy of copyrighted materials such as software and music recordings.

No Change for Law

The U.S. wants to conclude the agreement this year, arguing it won't require approval by Congress because it doesn't entail changing any U.S. laws.

``We intend to reflect the balance that's in U.S. law'' between copyright holders and the free access to their goods, said Stanford McCoy, the U.S. trade official negotiating the accord.

In the two negotiating sessions so far, officials haven't discussed Internet issues, and the U.S. hasn't decided how it wants to address those concerns, McCoy said.

Google pressed the Bush administration to drop any Internet issues from the talks. ``Why would we want to enshrine one view of U.S. law'' in a trade agreement, when that ``may change over time,'' Johanna Shelton, policy counsel of Google, told McCoy today, citing pending U.S. court cases.

Copyright Theft

Band warned against adopting a treaty barring copyright theft that fails to ensure ``fair use'' of information.

``It really could be used as a way of restricting the growth of U.S. Internet companies overseas,'' he said.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, representing Web users, sued the U.S. trade office last week, demanding it reveal details of the negotiations.

A leaked draft of the deal showed that the treaty could force Internet service providers to cooperate with copyright holders, the group said.

Two entertainment industry trade groups, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America, said any agreement should address the growing threat of illegal copying and distribution on the Web.

``It's hard to see how they work this out,'' said Eddan Katz, international affairs director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The accord will either be ``bland and meaningless, or radical and changes the Internet in fundamental ways,'' he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 22, 2008 16:18 EDT