Antigua May Be Allowed To Violate US Copyrights 482
Skleed refers us to the NYTimes for an article on the high-stakes case the US is losing before the World Trade Organization. So far the US has lost an initial hearing and two appeals on its policies regarding Antiguan offshore gambling sites. Now the lawyer pressing the case has asked for a rarely invoked, but codified, recourse under WTO rules: letting Antiguans copy and distribute American music, movies, and software. The game may be to get Hollywood and Microsoft, et al., to pressure Washington to cut a deal. But their influence may not be sufficient to move lawmakers on the question of online gambling. From the article: "But not complying with the decision presents big problems of its own for Washington. That's because Mr. Mendel, who is claiming $3.4 billion in damages on behalf of Antigua, has asked the trade organization to grant a rare form of compensation if the American government refuses to accept the ruling: permission for Antiguans to violate intellectual property laws by allowing them to distribute copies of American music, movie and software products, among others."
Facinating and legally brilliant (Score:3, Interesting)
Watch the Blackhole! (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course, this won't much stop satellite to the EU but smuggling is a serious offense and the US could easily put anyone involved in "facilitation" on watchlists (arrest on sight).
Does this give them the right to export? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Allowed? (Score:5, Interesting)
No kidding. It might be amusing to watch anti-war Hollywood suddenly discover that, while war is always wrong, a "narrow" use of the US military is sometimes necessary for the greater good.
Re:I am confussed (Score:5, Interesting)
It was widely expected to fail, but then Bill Frist tacked it onto a port security bill.
Looking at his lifetime donors [opensecrets.org], it doesn't appear to have been for a traditional special interest group. Instead, I think it was just a failing congressman, trying to appeal to the fascist evangelicals, who wish to legislate their morality on the rest of us.
Re:A Beautiful Thing Coming (Score:5, Interesting)
Also, I would argue (am arguing) that the drive to create is separate from the drive for money. There would still be artists if creating art was punishable by death, it has nothing to do with making money.
The connection between creating art and becoming rich and famous was propagated by the middle men who looked at artists and said, "You know, I could really make a killing by distributing this." That is capitalism.
Now that we are in the "Digital Age" and distribution can be widespread and done by anyone, the middle-men are threatened and are reacting, sometimes by adapting to the new technology [baen.com], sometimes by suing everyone in sight [blogspot.com].
The ideal solution would be to find a way to reward artists, without restricting the distribution of art. That is the goal, remember? [njit.edu]
Re:Allowed? (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't get it. (Score:3, Interesting)
If the issue were that gambling were allowed in the US by US companies and French companies but not by any other nation, that would be a big deal. But it seems to me that the US wants to exclude all its citizens from online gambling with all nations.
Or is the US allowing people in other nations to gamble at Los Vegas online, but not its own citizens? I don't know all the details.
Caribbean Basin Initiative (Score:2, Interesting)
The second thing is that reliable server colo and hosting can be really expensive down there. There are only so many ways for bits to get on and off the island. I'm not sure if Cable & Wireless is the only provider anymore, but if not then the others are likely to be connected by satellite connections -- can you say 1000ms latency?
Trust me, no one would be more delighted than I for the Eastern Caribbean to become an IP-free paradise of data haven goodness. But I don't expect it no matter how the WTO case turns out.
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Agreed. (Score:3, Interesting)
That was the whole debate with allofmp3.com. IF the material really was legal under russian law, the copies you purchased were legal well. The only real debate was whether or not the material WAS legal under russian law.
Re:I don't get it. (Score:2, Interesting)