Antigua Still Threatening To Launch Its WTO-Endorsed Legal Piracy Site, But We've Heard That Before
In a dispute that's dragged on for over a decade, it appears that Antigua is, once again, making noises about how this time it's really, really, really going to do what the WTO has said it can do: set up a legal platform to infringe on American copyrights as a form of official payback for the US clearly violating a trade agreement with Antigua by outlawing online gambling. We've covered this dispute and all its twists and turns for years, but the short summary is that Antigua won at every turn, even as the US tried to once declare victory where it had lost. The US even tried to just say it could unilaterally change the trade agreement, which is not how those things work.
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Antigua Creating Platform To Monetise Suspended US IP Rights From WTO Case
The government of Antigua and Barbuda is said to be taking steps to set up a platform to allow the tiny Caribbean nation to monetise or otherwise take advantage of the suspension of US intellectual property rights, as it is permitted to do by a World Trade Organization dispute panel. The WTO panel had ruled that Antigua could make up its loss in IP rights for US measures blocking Antiguan online gambling in the US.
A WTO Remedies Implementation Committee in Antigua and Barbuda, made up of experts in IP and trade law, information technology, and economics has held a meeting “geared toward harvesting benefits” of the WTO case, according to a 23 October Antigua release. The committee is chaired by Attorney General Justin Simon, and includes Ambassador Colin Murdoch and chief legal counsel in the WTO matter, Mark Mendel.
“The Committee is said to be recommending the establishment by the Government of Antigua & Barbuda of a statutory body to own, manage and operate the ultimate platform to be created for the monetisation or other exploitation of the suspension of American intellectual property rights authorised earlier this year by the WTO,” the release said. It is understood that the necessary domestic legislation to implement the remedies is in the final stages of preparation for submission to Parliament.”
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WTO Allows Antigua to Open Piracy Site
Antigua and Barbuda have been given the power by the World Trade Organization to sell or give away U.S. copyrighted media downloads without compensation to the rights holders.
The WTO issued the ruling suspending U.S. copyrights in the islands late Monday, and is part of the fallout over a 2007 legal flap concerning online gambling.
Antigua’s lawyer, Mark Mendel, told Wired’s sister publication, Wired.co.uk, that he was unsure when a possible Pirate Bay-like website offering games, movies, software and movies might be up and running. “We are definitely working on it and are hopeful that the U.S. will choose to negotiate fairly and honestly in the very near future so that we do not ultimately have to implement the remedy,” he said.
The act would not be, as the United States is arguing, ‘theft’ or ‘government-authorized piracy,’ but a legitimate means for the Caribbean island to make back some of the billions in earnings lost when the U.S. violated a free-trade agreement that forced Antigua to shutdown its online gambling industry — reportedly putting 5 percent of the island’s 90,000-strong population out of work. The U.S. continues to refuse to lift this blockade.
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US warns Antigua and Barbuda over 'piracy site' plan
"The highest trade body in the world, having reviewed the merits of Antigua and Barbuda's case and its ability to recover from the negative impact of the USA's unilateral and discriminatory actions, has made its ruling," Carl Roberts told the BBC.
"Antigua and Barbuda has always reserved its privilege to utilise its legal rights on international law.
"This is one of our options as we continue to seek a fair and equitable resolution of our case."
He added that he objected to US's description of the planned site - which would sell movies, music and games without paying copyright fees to their US owners - as being "government-authorised piracy".
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