$100 Billion Fine Get The US To Pay Attention

Found on Techdirt on Wednesday, 26 September 2007
Browse Politics

We've covered the long and detailed saga of Antigua fighting the US via the WTO, but the short summary is this: Antigua claims that the US is violating a free trade agreement in banning online gambling (many online gambling firms are in Antigua). The WTO agreed with Antigua and the US proceeded to ignore the ruling. The WTO again sided with Antigua... and the US pretended the WTO had sided with the US... and again ignored the ruling.

That's why Antigua is now pushing for the right to ignore US copyrights and patents as a remedy. However, there may be an even more persuasive remedy. Back over the summer, the EU indicated that it might start siding with Antigua in the dispute -- and it's a lot more difficult for the US to simply ignore the EU. To make the situation even more fun, the latest news is that gambling firms in the EU are pushing for $100 billion in damages from the US.

Ignoring everything works fine until you realize that the "rest of the world" is bigger than you. Nevertheless, it's a pity that this had to happen, when a more civilized way to deal with Antigua's claims would have been better.