According to Mark Mendel, the attorney representing Antigua in the World Trade Organization dispute, arbitration panels have only ruled once before in history that a country could suspend protection of intellectual property rights granted to U.S. businesses. He also said the move was "a very potent weapon. I hope that the U.S. government will now see the wisdom in reaching some accommodation with Antigua over this dispute and look forward to seeing efforts in this regard," he said.
However, Mendel said the amount of the damages should have been higher.
"What appears to have been done here is assuming a form of compliance that has not happened and probably will not happen without giving Antigua the ability to contest the method under the WTO's normal procedures," Mendel said.
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The panel said Antigua has no other "effective trade sanctions" against the U.S. in terms of services, and that decision means Antigua can take American products, like CDs and software, and sell them without any intellectual property protection. The value of the goods can total up to $21 million a year to satisfy the damages the country has suffered.
The ruling estimated Antigua's trade loss at $21 million, which is less than the country estimated but more than the Americans estimated. Antigua claimed $3.4 billion in losses; the U.S. said the country would lose $500,000. The panel came up with its figure based on compliance with the U.S. law rather than actual loss estimates based on the gaming prohibition.
The amount chosen by arbitrators isn't subject to review by the appellate body of the WTO, he said. Other nations whose gaming industries have been impacted by U.S. laws may now use this ruling as a precedent.
For a copy of the ruling, go to:
http://www.antiguawto.com/wto/84_22_6_ArbitrationReport_21Dec07.pdf
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