Legal WTO pirates of Antigua

Oh snap - i told you this was coming back in April 2007 http://deancollinsblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/wto-rules-usa-gambling-ban-illegal.html


The new (MP3) Pirates of the Caribbean
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/09/zookz_why/
Antigua, once rife with traditional high seas piracy, has given birth to a pirate download service. Only this is one you pay for.
Zookz claims to host 1,500 movies and 50,000 tracks for subscribers who trust it with $9.99 a month. Creators won't see a penny, however, because of an unusual exemption claimed by the island.
RegAd('mpu1', 'reg.music_media.4159/front', 'pos=top;sz=336x280', VCs);
Antigua is claiming the unusual opt-out from the international intellectual property treaty framework TRIPS, as a consequence of a dispute over its obligations under the GATS agreements, which are administered by the World Trade Organization.
In 2004, the WTO ruled that the United States had violated GATS by preventing Antigua's remote gambling services from access to the US market. The WTO later ordered the US to change its gambling laws and pay Antigua $21m compensation. The administration refused to do so. In a tit for tat, Antigua argued that GATS no longer applied. This is a unilateral declaration contested by the WTO, but Zookz claims it provides a legal umbrella.


Now we will start to see the war of the 'lobbyists' here in the USA - who will win the Gambling Lobbyists or the Film and Music Lobbyists?

I guess we'll see how the USA reacts to playing to global rules now.


Cheers,
Dean