ANTIGUA REJECTS CRITICISM ON WTO COPYRIGHT EXCEPTIONS

25 January 2008

Islanders have a right to protection from discriminatory US laws


The Antiguan Minister of Finance and the Economy Dr. Errol Cort has rejected the opinion of an international intellectual property specialist that Antigua and Barbuda could be in violation of a key international copyright treaty if it moves forward with plans to impose WTO-approved sanctions against the U.S.

Cort was responding in the local media to comments by Jorgen Blomqvist, the director of the Copyright Law Division of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), who said that as a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, Antigua and Barbuda would be legally obligated to protect copyrights, even if the World Trade Organization (WTO) approved the sanctions.

Cort said that while he had not had the opportunity to do research on the technical point which was raised by Blomqvist, he rejected the idea that the WTO-approved sanction would contravene other international treaties.

“I would have a big difficulty accepting what is being suggested, because if that is so, it puts a nonsense to the whole World Trade Organisation and the rulings and sanctions. It just brings the whole thing into disrepute. So I don’t accept that,” he said.

“It seems to me that what we would be saying at the World Trade Organisation is, notwithstanding whatever treaties you may have entered into, rulings of the WTO would have to be viewed in the context of an agreement to suspend these treaty obligations and to give supremacy to the ruling of the WTO.”

The finance minister said that he views the gaming dispute with the U.S. within this context. “Otherwise,” he added, “it would be a useless exercise to talk about going to the WTO to get some ruling and then you can’t lawfully implement the ruling. So, I don’t accept that particular view."

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