EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson warned on Wednesday that Europe could follow America's lead in taking WTO action against China over intellectual property rights (IPR) violations if Beijing doesn't clean up its act. "I do not rule out initiating or joining action at the WTO if in our view China is failing to take its responsibilities seriously," he said, according to an AFP report. Mandelson described China's IPR protection as "patchy and uneven". Although China claims it confiscated more than 90% of the pirated CDs and DVDs produced nationwide last year, the items are still widely available on the streets of Chinese cities. Mandelson made his remarks while unveiling an updated strategy for removing trade barriers seen as being unfair to EU exports. The strategy includes pursuing more cases through the WTO if necessary.