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Antigua and Barbuda File $3.44 Billion WTO Claim Against USAThu, Jun 21st, 2007 @ 12:00am Following the European Union's claim filed earlier this week, the tiny dual island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has lodged a claim for $3.44 billion compensation from the United States over its decision to withdraw certain World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, which it will seek primarily through the suspension of global copyright and intellectual property rights agreements. If the WTO were to allow the Antiguans to suspend all intellectual property obligations to the United States, the American IP industry could face a tiny adversary with an unlimited right to reproduce for its own benefit American IP goods of any kind, from automobiles to shoes to semiconductor technologies. Anyone for cheap Microsoft software, or the latest DVDs, CDs and games flooding the market?? Antigua and Barbuda filed the original WTO case in 2003 against the United States for their protectionist behavior preventing foreign online gambling and online poker companies from accepting US customers, while still allowing domestic online gambling. Antigua claimed the US was not in compliance with the trade commitments made when it joined the WTO. The WTO ruled several times against the United States, and has maintained that the U.S. could keep restrictions against online gambling if they were also applied equally to US-based businesses, citing 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) carve outs for U.S. businesses such as horse racing, state lotteries and fantasy sports. In not yielding to opening up the online gambling business, the United States Trade Representative's (USTR) has taken a similar hard line to that of the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Several people have noted from American arguments in front of the WTO that it is apparent the two have been working together on this case, which is not surprising, since this dispute revolves around American criminal law and how it impacts internet gambling. When the U.S. lost its final appeal March 2007, the USTR announced that it would take the unprecedented legal step of changing the international commitments it made as part of the 1994 General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) agreement amongst the 150 members of the WTO. As a result, the U.S. declined to challenge the WTO ruling, because it says that its legal maneuver effectively ends the case (click here for related article). Under the GATS, if a country withdraws its commitments other nations can seek compensation for any services trade opportunities that they could prove they lost through the change. Which is exactly what the EU and now Antigua and Barbuda have done. How many other WTO countries will file similar suits before the June 22 deadline to do so passes? China and Japan are expected to react shortly. Read Related Articles:
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PokerStars Launches New UK and Ireland Poker Tour PokerStars.com has announced the start of a new poker tour with stops throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) will kick off in Galway, Ireland in mid-December, and the first event in the UK will be held in Manchester in February.
Peerless Media Agrees to Purchase World Poker Tour Enterprises According to a Monday press release, WPT Enterprises Inc., mothership of the World Poker Tour, is now the rightful property of Peerless Media, Ltd., subsidiary of online giant PartyGaming.
Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Hit the Amazing Race Rail After surviving six legs of the Amazing Race by the skin of their teeth, poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were finally eliminated in the CBS reality show's most recently aired episode. Michelle and Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Events, gave reality television fans another chance to watch poker personalities compete away from the felt. Annie Duke garnered quite a following earlier in the year on another reality show competition, NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.
Isaac Baron Dominates Caesars Classic Main Event Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron ran over the final table of the Caesars Palace Classic $5,000 Main Event, amassing a huge chip lead and going home with the $246,928 first prize. It took two long days to narrow the 162-person field to the final ten. A very high percentage of the entrants were recognizable tournament circuit players, and unsurprisingly, the stacked field produced a tough final table lineup.
Tonight- ESPN shows Day Before WSOP Main Event Final Nine are Set- Oct 27 Tonight (Oct. 27) at 9pm ET, ESPN will broadcast highlights of action on the day before the Final Table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was set. Only 27 players remain when this one-hour show begins.
Frenchman Wins PokerStars EPT Warsaw Poker Tourney At the PokerStars European Poker Tour Warsaw No Limit Texas Hold'em main event that wrapped up yesterday, French businessman Christophe Benzimra finished first taking home 358,644 Euros in prize money, while Italian poker pro Alfio Battisti finished second in the tournament.
Vedes Conquers WPT Festa al Lago Final Table Tommy Vedes is the WPT's newest champion! Vedes outlasted 274 players to win the Festa al Lago title and the $1,218,225 first prize. Freddy Deeb, who began the final table with the chip lead, hoped to win his third WPT title and tie Gus Hansen's record. Instead, Deeb was forced to settle for 4th place, leaving room for a new WPT champ. Click here for in-depth coverage of the action and photos from the final table.
Will Hungarians Get Taxed on Poker Soon? Hungarian lawmakers have plans to tax poker winnings and regulate clubs to generate much-needed revenues during the country's worst economic crisis since the end of communism, reports Germany's Deutsche Weele.
Freddy Deeb Leads World Poker Tour Final Table The WPT Festa al Lago Main Event is down to the final six after five tough days of play. Two-time WPT champion Freddy Deeb brings the chip lead along with the benefit of his under-the-lights experience into Monday's televised final table. Deeb previously won the WPT Season III Aruba Poker Classic and the Season VII Celebrity Invitational. He also owns two World Series bracelets and has amassed over $6 million in tournament winnings. A win on Monday would add $1,218,225 to that total. Click here for photos from the felt and final table chip counts.
11 Remain in WPT Festa al Lago Main Event The fourth day of the Festa al Lago WPT $15,000 Championship began with 37 players, just ten eliminations away from the money. Though action was painfully slow at times, it hit break-neck speed before the end of the night, leaving only 11 players standing heading into Day 5. Click here for Day 4 photos and chip counts. |
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