Friday came and went without the WTO delivering its expected ruling in the ongoing Internet gambling case between the US and Antigua/Barbuda. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this case, here is the short summary:
In their infinite wisdom, Congress and the Bush administration have made it essentially impossible for Internet gambling sites not based in the US to compete in the US market. The Antigens (who had a significant online gambling industry) filed a complaint against the US. The US appealed. The US lost. Now the two nations are in arbitration over what “retaliatory penalties” Antigua can apply until the situation is remedied.
The case has the creative industries in the United States (including software) particularly interested, because the Antigens are demanding:
“the WTO’s authorization to suspend copyright protections on American movies, music and software so its domestic manufacturers can export those products to the United States and potentially other markets.”
Yes, you read that right. Because the American government passed a dumb law or two about Internet gambling, the Antigens want the ability to steal American IP. As ACT Executive Director Morgan Reed told Bloomberg:
“The demand by Antigua is ridiculous,” said Morgan Reed, executive director of the Association for Competitive Technology, the industry trade group that includes companies such as Microsoft and eBay. “The scary thing is that they’re asking for it.”