Do you think this ruling is fair?
Question by : Do you think this ruling is fair?
I found this article in the New York Times
PARIS — In an unusual ruling Friday at the World Trade Organization, the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua won the right to violate copyright protections on goods like films and music from the United States – worth up to $ 21 million – as part of a dispute between the two countries over online gambling.
The award comes after a WTO decision that Washington had wrongly blocked online gaming operators on the island from the American market at the same time it permitted online wagering on horse racing.
Antigua and Barbuda had claimed annual damages of $ 3.44 billion. That makes the relatively small amount awarded Friday, $ 21 million, something of a setback for Antigua, which had been struggling to preserve its booming gambling industry. The United States had claimed that its behavior had caused only $ 500,000 damage to the Antiguan economy.
Yet the ruling is significant in that it grants a rare form of compensation: the right of one country, in this case, Antigua, to violate intellectual property laws of another – the United States – by allowing them to distribute copies of American music, movie and software products, among other items.
“That has only been done once before and is, I believe, a very potent weapon,” said Mark Mendel, a lawyer representing Antigua, after the ruling. “I hope that the United States government will now see the wisdom in reaching some accommodation with Antigua over this dispute.”
Though Antigua is best known for its pristine beaches and tourist attractions, the dozens of online casinos now based there are vital to the island’s economy, serving as its second-largest employer.
By pressing its claim, trade lawyers said, Antigua could set a precedent for other countries to sue the United States for unfair trade practices, potentially opening the door to electronic piracy and other dubious practices around the world.
Do you think this ruling is fair?
Best answer:
Answer by bkc99xx
I see that as another example of why we should always be wary of any international body trying to impose a legal standard to the U.S. Not that I believe that the US may have been at fault, just that to allow another illegal action to compensate for what they have judged to be illegal is stupid as heck. If you had the legal rights for a product and found out that some international body had decided that another country had the right to distribute your property without compensation, how does that solve the initial problem without creating other injustices? Sounds like additional appeals and arguments coming on this one.
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