Antigua Says It Will Certainly, Absolutely, Definitely Use WTO Permission To Ignore US Copyright And Set Up A Pirate Site, Maybe

from the don't-make-us-do-this dept

One of the longest-running, and most extraordinary, sagas on Techdirt concerns the island of Antigua. Over 13 years ago, the country filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the US ban on online gambling, which Antigua said violated a trade agreement between the two countries. Long story short, the WTO not only agreed, but said that the Caribbean country could ignore US copyrights, and set up a WTO-authorized pirate site to obtain the $21 million in WTO sanctions that the US was refusing to pay as compensation for blocking Antigua's online gambling sites. In 2013, Antigua was still saying it was definitely going to do this if it couldn't come to some agreement with the US on the matter, and the US was still refusing to settle.

Three years later, Antigua -- officially known as Antigua and Barbuda -- has just told a meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) the following:

Antigua and Barbuda now informs the DSB that, if an appropriate and beneficial settlement is not reached with the US by year-end, the government will be compelled to take action to enforce the suspension of copyright on the sale of US intellectual property, consistent with the award of the DSB.
That's from a copy of Antigua's statement (pdf), obtained by IP Watch. The spokesperson claims the country has suffered serious losses as a result of the US gambling ban:
Over that entire 12-year period, my small country with a Gross Domestic Product of just $1 billion has been deprived of trade revenues which now exceed $250 million.
The statement points out that for the US, $250 million represents just 0.0003% of its annual GDP, and that over the last 12 years, the US has enjoyed a trade surplus of $1 billion with Antigua. Moreover:
While the US continues to act in contradiction of the rulings and recommendations stipulated by DSB concerning my country, it remains the most active user of the institution's Dispute Settlement System.
As a result of the continuing US intransigence, Antigua feels it has no choice but to take the momentous step of absolutely definitely setting up that WTO-authorized piracy site -- just like the last time it said that.

Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and +glynmoody on Google+

Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: antigua, copyright, piracy, trade, us, wto


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. icon
    Vidiot (profile), 2 Dec 2016 @ 12:59pm

    Cool Runnings meets Kim Dotcom... popcorn time!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Roger Strong (profile), 2 Dec 2016 @ 1:25pm

    Careful....

    This act of war could lead to the American invasion of Montserrat.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2016 @ 1:34pm

    Just do it already.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2016 @ 1:37pm

    cheap bluster...

    Come at America Bro!

    Will believe it when I see it!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. icon
    Chris-Mouse (profile), 2 Dec 2016 @ 1:48pm

    A more effective solution might be to simply get the WTO to ban the USA from using the WTO dispute settlement system until such time as the USA has complied with all orders of that system.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2016 @ 1:52pm

    Since when does the US abide by anything the WTO rules that penalizes the US. That's right folks the US never abides.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Baron von Robber, 2 Dec 2016 @ 2:06pm

    I think I know where Pirate Bay should move its servers. :)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2016 @ 2:54pm

    Re:

    If the Pirate Bay does that I am sure that Hollywood will have one major nuclear hissy fit storm and making demands to the US government to take very drastic action against the country.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2016 @ 3:30pm

    Re:

    ...but the dude does

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. icon
    Hugo S Cunningham (profile), 2 Dec 2016 @ 3:32pm

    Limited infringement could divide US opinion

    I oppose on-line gambling unless it includes protection and reimbursement for those victimized by gambling addicts, eg employers, spouses, dependent children, etc. Having said that...

    Antigua could attract some American support by targeting a niche: films that *should* be in the public domain, ie. more than 70 years old.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    UniKyrn, 2 Dec 2016 @ 4:16pm

    Bullwinkle: "Hey Rocky, watch me pull a threat out of my hat!"

    Rocky: "Again?"

    Bullwinkle: "This time for sure! Presto!"

    *thud*

    Bullwinkle: "I need to get a better hat."

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2016 @ 5:01pm

    Re: Limited infringement could divide US opinion

    But yet drugs are available ANYWHERE. There is protection or reimbursement for their activities? Gambling is a much lesser evil as the recent legalization is showing. An American constitutional right should be for people spend their money as they see fit. The ONLY reason this is an issue is because the US gov't cant get sink their teeth in and get a cut as easily like they can as you're walking out of a casino or trying to collect your lottery winnings.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2016 @ 6:45pm

    Price Hike

    Just hike the price on .ag and .bb top level domains and sell to torrent, file locker, and stream providers. FU(SA)!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 3 Dec 2016 @ 12:21am

    Sure they can set up a pirate site, but the spooks in the US will either take it down or target anyone that visits it. Gambling is a vice, and as such the US government wants a cut, or they take their ball and go home. I will take my chances in Atlantic City or Las Vegas, or on most any Indian Reservation here in the states for that matter. The system is rigged enough towards the house at a brick and mortar casino, let alone on the www.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. icon
    Padpaw (profile), 3 Dec 2016 @ 3:36pm

    Maybe they are worried they will get bombed into oblivion for refusing to bow down to the US government. Tends to happen alot.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. icon
    That One Guy (profile), 3 Dec 2016 @ 7:09pm

    Re: Re:

    Hollywood will have one major nuclear hissy fit storm and making demands to the US government to take very drastic action

    So business as usual then?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2016 @ 3:14am

    This raises an interesting question.

    If Antigua hosts a filesharing site to make up for lost revenue from the Americans...

    Given the UKs hard-on for website blocking, if the UK blocked said site, would they be forced to pay Antigua too?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2016 @ 7:33am

    Re: Limited infringement could divide US opinion

    It's only okay if they're willing to accept responsibility for other people's actions then. That's brilliant.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    Wendy Cockcroft, 6 Dec 2016 @ 5:48am

    Re:

    What do you think ISDS is for? They're not using WTO settlement any more, they're using supra-national tribunals.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. identicon
    Wendy Cockcroft, 6 Dec 2016 @ 5:50am

    Re: Re: Re:

    With drones. Maybe Our Donald, Who Art Not In The White House Yet will find a place to practice nuking on.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.