WTO

Antigua Threatens to OK Piracy if U.S. Ignores Gambling Dispute

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 19, 2008 - 10:57am.

Los Angeles - The government of Antigua is threatening to legalize piracy of U.S. music and movies -- with World Trade Organization approval -- should the U.S. fail to end a running dispute over the legality of Internet gambling, Variety reports.

tags: Gambling | Music | Movies | MPAA | WTO | Antigua | USTR |

EU Accepts U.S. Compensation Deal for Web Gambling

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2007 - 9:36am.

Washington - The European Union has accepted a compensation package the U.S. has offered, in response to its withdrawal from World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements on gambling and betting services. "A bilateral agreement was signed in Geneva, which provides EU service suppliers with new trade opportunities in the U.S. postal and courier, research and development, storage and warehouse sectors," the Commission said. "The U.S. also made concessions in the testing and analysis services sector."

Lawmakers Seek Alteration of U.S. Ban on 'Net Gambling

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2007 - 9:47am.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.)

Washington - In a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative sent on Monday, six lawmakers -- including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers -- said the U.S. should consider altering its ban on Internet gambling instead of paying compensation to countries who say the U.S. is violating trade agreements, Reuters reported.

WTO Launches Investigation of Piracy in China

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 27, 2007 - 10:45am.

Geneva - The World Trade Organization (WTO) has opened a formal investigation into whether China is doing enough to protect intellectual property, which could eventually authorize U.S. trade sanctions against China worth billions, the Associated Press reported.

tags: Law | Policy | Piracy | China | Copyright | WTO |

U.S. Asks WTO to Mediate Piracy Dispute With China

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 14, 2007 - 11:09am.

Washington - The U.S. Trade Representative on Monday lodged a request for a formal case against China at the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body, after months of criticizing the country's handling of piracy of U.S. intellectual property.

U.S. Alleges Chinese Trade Barriers on American Digital Music, Movies

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 19, 2007 - 1:29pm.

Geneva - The U.S. Trade Representative said that China discriminates against the release of American music and movies in the country, and may include the allegations in its complaint against China filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Associated Press reported.

'Net Gambling Trade Group Sues AG Gonzales, FTC Over U.S. Ban

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 7, 2007 - 2:30pm.

Washington - A new trade group called the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) this week filed suit against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Reserve, seeking to halt enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, The Gambling Newswire reported.

China, Russia Top U.S. "Priority Watch List" of Piracy Havens

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 30, 2007 - 10:20am.

Washington - The Bush administration on Monday announced its latest list of countries placed on a "priority watch list" for piracy by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, giving special attention given once again to China and Russia.

House Bill Would Allow Americans to Legally Gamble Online

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 26, 2007 - 10:52am.

Washington - Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, on Thursday introduced legislation intended to repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which outlawed most forms of Internet gambling in the U.S.

China Bristles at U.S. WTO Piracy Cases

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 24, 2007 - 10:08am.

Beijing - China has warned that U.S. complaints to the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the nation's control on piracy will harm relations between the two nations, Reuters reported.

U.S. Files Piracy Cases Against China at World Trade Organization

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 10, 2007 - 12:39pm.

Geneva - The U.S. on Tuesday filed two complaints against China with the World Trade Organization (WTO), saying the country provides "inadequate protection" against piracy of U.S. movies, music, games, books, software and other goods.

tags: Games | Law | Policy | Piracy | Music | Movies | China | Copyright | WTO | USTR |

U.S. Dealt Setback in WTO 'Net Gambling Dispute With Antigua

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 26, 2007 - 9:20am.

Washington - A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has dealt the U.S. a setback in a case that sets U.S. interests in prohibiting Internet gambling against the financial interests of the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, where many Web gambling firms have operations, Reuters reported.

AllofMP3 Plans to Stay Open in 2007, Lower Prices Over New Year's

Authored by Jay Baage on December 29, 2006 - 10:43pm.
The controversial Russian low-price online music store AllofMP3.com plans to stay open. Mediaservices, the company behind AllofMP3.com, claims that current US lawsuits are not of any particular concern to the company and offers users a 20% price cut over New Years: “Certainly the (record) labels are free to file any suit they wish, despite knowing full well that AllofMP3.com operates legally in Russia”, blogs an unnamed senior representative of the company on their site.

Russia Agrees to Shut Down AllofMP3.com, Clamp Down on Piracy

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 29, 2006 - 2:43pm.
Washington - Russia has agreed to shut down the controversial website AllofMP3.com -- which sold cheap song downloads without label permissions -- as part of an agreement designed to allay U.S. concerns about the country's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Russian Download Store AllofMP3 Reacts to Visa, MasterCard Bans

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2006 - 2:12pm.
Moscow - Reacting to the blow that came as two major credit card companies halted payment processing for its controversial music download store, Russia-based AllofMP3.com called the actions "arbitrary, capricious and discriminatory," adding that it may seek legal recourse to reverse the decisions. The site sells albums for about $2 each, and claims to be legal under Russian law and hold a valid license from a Russian copyrights society. This week, both Visa and MasterCard ceased processing payments for the site.

U.S. Trade Rep: Russian MP3 Store Barrier to WTO Accession

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 5, 2006 - 4:48pm.
Washington - The U.S. Trade Representative has called on Russia to shutter music download store AllofMP3.com, pointing to it as an impediment to the country's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Reuters reported. Susan Schwab previously identified the site -- which sells songs for pennies -- as the "poster child" for online music piracy. "I have a hard time imagining Russia becoming a member of the WTO and having a Web site like that up and running that is so clearly a violation of everyone's intellectual property rights," U.S. Trade Representative Schwab told Reuters. The recording industry has been trying for some time to pressure Russian authorities to shut down AllofMP3.com, but despite an investigation that found the site is breaking Russian laws, prosecutors in Moscow have not taken action thus far against the company. The topic will likely be resurrected next week at another meeting between U.S. and Russian officials on WTO accession.
tags: Law | Piracy | Music | MP3 | Russia | AllofMP3.com | WTO | IP | Politics | Trade |

Washington Post: U.S., Antigua Tussle at WTO Over 'Net Gambling

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 4, 2006 - 12:02pm.
Washington - The Washington Post on Friday reported on the ongoing dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) between the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda and the U.S. over Internet gambling. After the U.S. cracked down on offshore online casino operators in 2002, the island nation filed a complaint at the WTO, claiming U.S. laws prohibiting Internet gambling violated international trade accords. Antigua won an initial ruling in 2004, which said the U.S. must either ban all forms of online gambling -- Americans can currently wager on horses online -- or allow offshore sites to accept wagers from U.S. citizens. However, the U.S. may simply choose to ignore the ruling, in which case Antigua plans to ask the WTO for the right to copy and export U.S. DVDs and CDs as a form of sanction.
tags: Games | Law | Gambling | Legislation | WTO | Trade | Antigua | US |

WTO to Probe Whether U.S. 'Net Gambling Laws Violate Intl. Accords

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 19, 2006 - 1:05pm.
Geneva - The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced on Wednesday that it has established a panel that will investigate whether U.S. restrictions on Internet gambling violate international trade rules, the Associated Press reported.

U.S. May Petition WTO on Piracy in China

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 25, 2006 - 11:38am.
Beijing - The U.S. may take legal action against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) if the country does not further step up its anti-piracy efforts, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Although China moved recently to shut down several specific pirate disc plants, and committed to compel Chinese PC makers to pre-install legal software, the U.S. still estimates that Chinese piracy and counterfeiting costs U.S. businesses $250 billion in lost sales each year. "We remain consistent and clear in our policies that we consider all trade tools open and available," said Chris Israel, the U.S. Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement. "We view the commitment from Chinese leaders as meaningful and significant, and the execution of those commitments and meaningful results is really what we are focused on right now."
tags: Piracy | China | U.S | WTO | Petition |

U.S. Asks WTO for Review of China's Anti-Piracy Efforts

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 26, 2005 - 6:20am.
Washington - The Bush Administration has asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a special review of government efforts to stem piracy of music, movies, software and other products in China, deemed by the U.S. as a haven for piracy, the Associated Press reported. "If China believes that it is doing enough to protect intellectual property, then it should view this process as a chance to prove its case," said U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman. "Our goal is to get detailed information that will help pinpoint exactly where the enforcement system is breaking down so we can decide the appropriate next step." AP reports that U.S. business interests have been lobbying for the government to make a formal complaint against China over piracy, which could eventually lead to economic sanctions against China.
tags: China | U.S | Anti-Piracy | WTO |