Antigua Files for Remedies- $3.4 billion per year in intellectual prop

[Jay Cohen]

Antigua's Press Release:

ANTIGUA SEEKS APPROVAL FOR TRADE SANCTIONS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES IN GAMBLING CASE


ST. JOHNS, Antigua. The government of Antigua and Barbuda today announced that it has moved under Article 22 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding of the World Trade Organisation to seek the imposition of trade sanctions against the United States for having failed to comply with a WTO ruling in favour of Antigua on the subject of cross-border gambling and betting services. In the filing made today, Antigua has informed the WTO of its intention to seek concessions with an annual value of US $3.443 billion, primarily through the suspension of Antigua’s obligations in respect of copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs and patents under the WTO’s intellectual property rights or “TRIPS” agreement. This action, once approved by the WTO, could have significant implications for American intellectual property rights and represents a material escalation in the stakes at play in the gambling case.

Dr L. Errol Cort, Antigua’s Minister of Finance and the Economy, expressed his government’s resolve, stating “While we realise this is a significant step for Antigua and Barbuda to take, we feel we have no other choice in the matter. We have fought long and hard for fair access to the United States market and have won at every stage of the WTO process. Until such time as the United States is willing to work with us on achieving a reasonable solution to this trade dispute, we will continue to use every legitimate remedy available to protect the interests of our citizens.”

Antigua has expressed its frustration on many occasions over the failure of the United States to engage with Antigua over a mutually agreeable bilateral resolution of the dispute, and instead maintaining an uncompromising posture despite repeated success by Antigua in the WTO dispute resolution system. In the most recent, 30 March 2007 WTO report on the case, the reviewing panel observed that the United States maintains an extensive domestic remote gaming industry while prohibiting foreign service providers access to the markets. The report also clarified that United States laws as written and applied sanction many domestic remote gambling opportunities, none of which are available to Antiguan service providers.

“Despite having been dressed up by the United States as a moral issue,” said Dr Cort, “All along this has simply been a trade issue. This industry has been and can be regulated. We are willing to work with the United States government to ensure that its legitimate interests are protected. But unfortunately, there appear to be powerful interests in the United States that want to protect the domestic industry from competition. That is not only unfair and wrong, but contrary to the letter and spirit of the WTO agreements.”

The sanctions requested by Antigua will come into effect shortly, unless the United States refers the issue to arbitration, in which event a panel of WTO arbitrators will decide on the final level and scope of the sanctions that may be imposed by Antigua. The recent, unprecedented announcement by the United States that it was acting to withdraw its commitments in respect of gambling and betting services has not altered Antigua’s strategy. “We remain entitled to the benefits of our victory in the WTO,” said Mark Mendel, Antigua’s lead counsel in the case. “Whether the United States is able to withdraw its commitment with respect to other countries is one thing, but Antigua has its victory and the United States is obligated to comply with it. With Antigua poised to impose massive sanctions against substantial United States business interests with absolutely no connection to gambling, it certainly seems time for the United States to come to grips with this case and work out a settlement. But if we can’t convince the United States to sit at the bargaining table with Antigua, maybe some of the adversely affected American business interests will be able to do so.”

[Jay Cohen]

[ QUOTE ]
Jay,

Assuming this request gets on the current agenda, and that it receives approval, is there the usual multiple rounds of appeals of that remedy similar to the original dispute? A key part of the US strategy has always been to delay, so I am just wondering how much further they can drag this out.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, there are no appeals in this round.

I assume the US will contest Antigua's claim and a panel will be seated in 60 days or less. I think once the panel is seated it will take 60 to 90 days. No appeals.

I'll have a better schedule for you very soon.

[TheEngineer]

[ QUOTE ]
Has there been any effort to push our position to the primary 2008 Presidential candidates? Especially for those candidates that haven't stated there position, wouldn't it be useful for them to hear our position before they have to discuss it in any capacity? I'll bet a guy like Guilianni hasn't even thought about the issue or hasn't solidified his thoughts and if it were possible to get the issue in front of him from our perspective now, so he wouldn't have to change his mind later (which I believe he has shown his is disinclined to do), we'd be in better shape.

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't done a lot in this area. I sent Giuliani an email asking for his position last month, but I received no reply. Maybe now that several New York have cosponsored IGREA, he may have an opinion. I do think there's an opportunity there, perhaps.

Ron Paul is actively working for our right to play, as I imagine we all know. I don't know about Fred Thompson's position. As for the other candidates, as far as I can tell they're actively against us (especially Brownback).

[metsandfinsfan]

US will lose. this will be interesting

[TheEngineer]

[ QUOTE ]
US already lost. this will be very interesting

[/ QUOTE ]

[Gildwulf]

This ruling means nothing and is a dead end. The US will just take the ball and walk home. The US has ignored WTO rulings in the past and will continue to ignore it so long as it has the international clout to do so.

[TheEngineer]

[ QUOTE ]
This ruling means nothing and is a dead end. The US will just take the ball and walk home. The US has ignored WTO rulings in the past and will continue to ignore it so long as it has the international clout to do so.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's exactly what would happen if the American people simply sat back and refused to do anything. However, that's not the case. There are several bills in Congress to modify UIGEA, and we're getting attention. This is one more tool for us. Also, the social conservatives who were forced this on us don't have nearly the power they had last year.

As I mentioned before, I don't see the finish line. We have a long way to go. This is simply one more step toward us achieving our goal.

[Skallagrim]

[ QUOTE ]
This ruling means nothing and is a dead end. The US will just take the ball and walk home. The US has ignored WTO rulings in the past and will continue to ignore it so long as it has the international clout to do so.

[/ QUOTE ]

If this wasnt from a "green" poster, Id think it just trolling to provoke a response.

I would like to see an example of where the US has "ignored" WTO rulings in the past. I could cite plenty of examples of the US using the WTO to get rulings against other countries (we just started another one with China, for example).

The US can ignore the ruling only to the extent that it refuses to change its discriminatory laws on internet gambling and chooses to accept the consequences and pay the compensation - thats possible.

But what the US cannot do is refuse to change our laws AND not pay the compensation. That would violate the treaty so openly as to remove any last bit of US credibility in the world left after the Bush administration.

Once the US decides to violate the treaty, so will everyone else. The US as a whole benefits far more from the WTO than is realized by this post.

So what is the US going to do when Antigua starts selling unlicensed movies and software? Invade Antigua? Well we could, of course, but that would be the end of the WTO as we know it. So then China resumes selling pirated movies and software. Think there is any chance of the US succesfully invading and occupying China?

This ruling does not guarantee a victory for poker players, but the idea that the US can INDEFINITELY ignore this ruling is the real "dead end."

Skallagrim

[WarmonkEd]

[ QUOTE ]
Updated article: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/...ess/gamble.php

[/ QUOTE ]

can someone elaborate on this segment?

"After losing the case at the WTO, Washington announced that it would take the unprecedented legal step of changing the international commitments it made as part of a 1994 treaty regulating trade in services among the 150 members of the WTO. As a result, Washington declined to challenge the WTO ruling, because it says that its legal maneuver effectively ends the case."

what commitments were changed?

[TheEngineer]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Updated article: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/...ess/gamble.php

[/ QUOTE ]

can someone elaborate on this segment?

"After losing the case at the WTO, Washington announced that it would take the unprecedented legal step of changing the international commitments it made as part of a 1994 treaty regulating trade in services among the 150 members of the WTO. As a result, Washington declined to challenge the WTO ruling, because it says that its legal maneuver effectively ends the case."

what commitments were changed?

[/ QUOTE ]

The U.S. claimed it was all a typo, and that we never intended to have our gaming sector as part of GATS. Our "solution" was to withdraw from the gaming sector of GATS, then claim the issue was solved.