WTO gives Antigua go-ahead to suspend US copyright
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has given Antigua permission to suspend copyright on US intellectual property as compensation for the US government’s decision to ban offshore gambling – sanctions the US has described as “government-authorised piracy”.
The WTO’s ruling, delivered on Monday, enables Antigua to lift copyright on US films, music and other intellectual property up to the value of $21 million a year, possibly through a government-run file-sharing site.
But the US has warned Antigua against imposing such sanctions. “If Antigua does proceed with the unprecedented plan for its government to authorise the theft of intellectual property, it would only serve to hurt Antigua’s own interests…Government-authorised piracy would undermine chances for a settlement. It also would serve as a major impediment to foreign investment in the Antiguan economy,” said Nkenge Harmon, a spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative.
Antigua has been demanding compensation from the US since it banned cross-border gambling, including gambling online at sites based in the Caribbean, in 2003. Before the ban, Antigua’s online gambling industry was worth an estimated $3.4 billion.
The WTO says the US embargo violates trade agreements including the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS). In retaliation, it has given Antigua permission to suspend its US intellectual property obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
In a statement announcing the WTO’s decision, Antigua’s finance minister Harold Lovell said he hopes Antigua and the US could reach an alternative agreement, but added: “[The US government’s] aggressive efforts to shut down the remote gaming industry in Antigua have resulted in the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs and seizure by the Americans of billions of dollars belonging to gaming operators and their customers.”
Colin Murdoch, trade ambassador for Antigua and Barbuda, said in a statement that the decision had not been taken lightly. “The WTO provides this remedy not to encourage illicit behavior by nations; but rather to provide them with a way to secure their legal rights as sovereign nations,” he said.
Barry Slotnick, a partner at Loeb & Loeb LLP’s IP and entertainment litigation practice in New York, said the WTO’s decision contradicts its function as a trade mediator.
“The WTO was formed to allow nations to talk through their trade issues, but this seems calculated to create a very different kind of reaction,” he said.
Slotnick also described Antigua’s response to the embargo as “an absurd overreaction to a totally legitimate activity”.
“Copyright is an integral part of every nation’s business and property. Offshore gambling, although important in Antigua, is less important. The laws of each country should be able to govern whether gambling is legal or illegal,” he said.
It is unclear if, or how, Antigua will enact these sanctions but, if it does, Slotnick believes IP owners could stop protected products from entering Antigua altogether. “It’s unlikely that Antigua and the US would engage in a major trade war, but if it did, this could go beyond entertainment. Would it be extended to computer software? Would the US decide to ban the importation of patented medicine into Antigua? It could have serious ramifications,” he said.
