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WTO Awards Caribbean Country Right to Ignore US Copyright
The WTO's recent ruling on Antigua's complaint against the US over the banning of online gambling resulted in a payment to the island nation much less than they asked for. It appears, though, that this payment was just part of the WTO's compensation package for Antigua/Barbuda. Via Kotaku, the Hollywood Reporter notes that the Caribbean country can now freely ignore US copyright laws - legally. This dispensation is apparently limited to some $21 million a year. "The WTO often takes decisions awarding trade compensation in cases where one nation's policies are found to break its rules. But this is only the second time the compensation lets one country violate intellectual property laws. In this case, Antigua will -- in theory -- be allowed to distribute copies of American DVDs, CDs and games and software with impunity. 'That has only been done once before and is, I believe, a very potent weapon,' Antigua's lawyer Mark Mendel said. 'I hope that the United States government will now see the wisdom in reaching some accommodation with Antigua over this dispute.'"
Under this administration, The WTO and Antiguan people are now terrorists. Prepare for us to spend 1 billion dollars a day in taxpayer funds to attack you now.
Don't Tread on Me
for web hosting
Either online gambling is legalized and we win, or we can legally download movies, music, and software from Antigua, and we win. Huzzah for the WTO!
In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199
Attacking recognition of US copyright and patent monopolies is a good way to rein in the USA on an international level. A large chunk of the US economy is now "intangibles", basically fairy dust. To really tank the US economy (only a good thing for the rest of us, despite self-deluding crap in the US about how the rest of the world needs the US to "buy their stuff" - sure, just like black ants need a bunch of lazy-ass red ants lording it over them...), complete lack of recognition of US copyrights and patents would go a long way.
Does this apply to exports, or in-country use only? Would it mean that an Antiguan company could sell mp3's online to customers in Europe/Canada/USA/Australia? I'm guessing that in the USA you'd be arrested for buying from Antigua, if not due to existing laws then due to something coming in the near future, but how about other countries?
I would happily spend my USD with them.
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
US copyrights are *already* widely ignored. How is this any different?
Since when did "free trade" translate into an abandonment of sovereignty in favor of having an unelected global organization dictate national policy? If the people of the United States (or any country) want to ban online gambling then what business of the WTO is it? At least when the WTO steps in over protective tariffs that makes SOME sense. If a product is completely outlawed though, how the hell is a free trade issue?
Can the Netherlands file a WTO complaint because some of their products (cannabis coffee shops) illegal in the United States? Can the United States file a complaint because some of our exports (pornography) are illegal in Saudi Arabia? Where the hell does it end?
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
The landmark decision by the Geneva-based trade watchdog means that the tiny islands are able to violate intellectual property protection worth up to $21 million as part of a dispute between the countries over online gambling.
So they get to "violate" $21M USD worth of IP, then they are infringing. So 21 million MP3's (if iTunes is considered fair market value). Apple claims 2.5 million downloads per week, so presuming everyone from iTunes now downloaded from Antigua at the same rate, they'd be done in 8.4 weeks. Anything past that would be punishable IP infringement.
But again, those numbers are all suspect, what is the real dollar amount of IP? The point being, though, this isn't a free flowing well, it is finite and capped each year. So enjoy it for a few weeks, Antigua. Christmas in January.
As I sit looking out my window across a lovely but frigid blanket of white to the filthy, freezing slush on the street and notice a pedestrian being blown off the sidewalk by an icy, knife-edged wind, I think of setting up a nice little pirate factory to legally crank out stuff that will drive the RIAA to frothing, incoherent rage on one of the nicer Caribbean islands.
And a drink. A drink with an umbrella in it. Could life be better?
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
I'm going to setup a copy shop and start selling pirate copies of Ubuntu. Who's with me?
If you haven't made a developer cry, you've wasted a day.
21 Million? That's it??? Who defines how much the copyright is worth? That's like two movies on Bittorent according to the MPAA.
What this really represents is a message to the US: the WTO is not afraid to use IP laws to penalize us if we try and bully other countries. The member states of the WTO are not happy that the US can basically run free, so they just wanted to remind us that there is a system in place that can overrule America's policies. I personally view that as a good thing, since the US keeps using its position as the single most powerful nation in the world to push various agendas on other nations.
Palm trees and 8
The truth is that this has been expected for a while. You cannot expect to have one rule for trade flowing one way and then try and exempt certain businesses just because you don't like them. European Governments are not allowed to reject all Genetically modified soya so the US can not reject all gambling.
Before Bush came into office the US had never lost a single case at the WTO. Now he has lost at least two. The last one I remember was against Europe with regard to an import tax on steel. Here is a link or two:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3291537.stm
http://themanufacturer.com/us/detail.html?contents_id=1726
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article77803.ece
In that case the US backed down fairly quickly as the tariffs Europe was going to impose were all designed to damage the economy in places Bush needed to get re-elected. One example given was taxing Florida oranges heavily and making them far more expensive than those from elsewhere. This is what every last tariff was designed to do. The European Union chose products where the same item could be obtained elsewhere for a competitive price (but not after a 30% tax hike was imposed on the US produce).
In this case turning Antigua into a file sharing haven will be an annoyance, but probably not as dire as what Europe was aiming for. This is especially true when you look at the amounts involved. In this case 21 million dollars per year is fairly small compared to the 2.2 billion that the last dispute could have cost had the US not backed down.
I dont read
Because its isn't a guy its a state. It also isn't property its a right created by states via treaty just as the WTO is created by states via treaty.
Software Inventor
I guess this means the GPL is also null and void there as well.
Not that I'm trying to be a Troll, just a random thought that crossed my mind as interesting.
If you wonder why a "first post" would be modded "redundant" instead of "offtopic", it's because "holy shit" is of course not offtopic. In the Carribean they have a religion where marijuana is used as a sacrement. So the shit there is indeed holy, making the statement "holy shit" itself redundant.
Also, "holy shit" is redundant because right now in every office in Hollywood, overpaid cocaine soaked executives are making that very same exclamation.
Well, not all of them will be saying "holy shit." Some will simply be saying "shit", referring to what they just did in their pants.
-mcgrew
PS- everyone should now go out and sell all their Sony stock. Not because this will make the price of Sony stock drop, just because Sony is evil and this is as good an excuse as any.
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
"Judge: You see, we know this guy owes you money and doesn't want to pay it, but he's really well connected and we can't do anything about it. In return we will garnish his wages untill you're paid what you're owed" There, fixed that for you. Courts do it all the time.
Pirates of the Caribbean.... ;)
There's a Disney joke in this somewhere.
in ...
ANTIGUITY
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
"Now - $21 million may seem like a considerable award. However, according the the RIAA's calculations, this only covers the single "Just a Lil Bit" by artist 50 Cent."
Since the award is to Antigua, and the profits of the award are to compensate Antigua, its the value in/to Antigua that counts. What the **AA thinks something is worth elsewhere is irrelevant.
Don't forget - this is as compensation to Antigua - its the revenue that is generated in or for Antigua that counts, not the "damage" elsewhere. They can use it to generate compensating revenues, up to the $21 million/year mark. If, for example, Microsoft was selling their crippleware for $3/unit in bulk, Antigua can now legally sell up to 7M copies a year at that price.
Kevin Smith on Prince
America was invented in Europe.
Antigua could legally release any US software's source code under a GPL like license, and the vendor would have to prove each year that Antigua has violated them for more than $21 mil. $21,000,000 is a hell of a write off every year, especially if you aren't selling hundreds of thousands if not millions of copies of the software out side of Antigua.
Microsoft? Apple? Diebold? Cisco? Oracle?
A single person with access to code and a $21 million a year grudge to burn might already be shopping for a 1-way ticket to Antigua.
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
Uh, no.
Dear Servicemember:
We realize that you were due to retire in 2008. However, as we're now fighting EVERYONE, your enlistment has been extended...
...to 2108. Thanks for serving, and have a friendly-fire-free day!
Love, Uncle Sam
Seriously, folks... While I'm as proud as any military brat concerning the amount of rear the US armed forces has the capability to kick, we are NOT at the point where we can take on the world.
Rephrased: How many 12-year-olds could you take on?
Don't tell me to get a life. I'm a gamer; I have LOTS of lives!
SWM seeks new sig for a brief fling
"In other news, tonight President Bush announced in to the American people that Antigua is a terrorist state and sponsor of Al Qaeda. Bush repeatedly stated his desire for military action to inva... er liberate the country and it's people. Bush also praised Disney and the RIAA for endorsement of the Antigua liberation from terror."
Brielle
Just to start off the idea: As some of us are aware, Office 2007 prohibits reverse engineering of the product in it's EULA. So for example, I can't buy a copy of Office 2007, install it, and run a disassembler against it to ... let's say ... figure out the Word2007 save file format. It's prohibited. If I did this and published my findings, Microsoft would say, "You violated your license agreement, and you're liable for the damages caused by ruining our control of the format, we get all the fruits of your labor, plus fines, oh, and to top it all off, the moment you broke the EULA, you broke copyright because you no longer had a right to have that copy of the software, so we'll see you in federal court too." So nobody reverse engineers this way. But it's the most effective way.
With me so far? Ok, so now we've got this Antigua WTO decision and someone outside the US can buy a copy of Antigua Productivity Suite 2007 which happens to be a legal copy of Microsoft Office 2007 with the EULA stripped off. Instead of licensing it, they are purchasing a copy. Just like purchasing a book. They could cut it up, post details about how it works internally, and lots of other interesting stuff.
Am I on to something, or missing something?
Of course this could also be used against a GPL work, like Linux. Since the teeth of the GPL lies in the idea, "your copyright license depends on these terms, and if you don't agree, you have no license to copy." Well, Antigua could make a copy now. I could buy it, get no source, and have no right to the source. Maybe I could buy a copy of Linux with source, but not be bound by the GPL in things I do with it?