[governance] IPW / United States Chided As TRIPS Scofflaw At WTO

[Riaz K Tayob]

Seems like it is not just low patent quality standards that bedogs the 
ICT sector in the US as far as intellectual property rights are 
concerned... there is also the double standards on trademarks as the IP 
Watch article intimates, and US compliance with international law on 
trade marks... be interesting to see how ICANN deals with this if or 
when this comes up with its new registry...

Perhaps this article makes a case for both the internationalisation of 
CIR crowd, and the status quoists. For the internationalisation crowd it 
points to the lack of US candidature as a benevolent dictator over CIR. 
For the status quoists it makes the point, see how difficult it is to 
get anything done, best play the game and maximise what can be wrought.

Riaz



    United States Chided As TRIPS Scofflaw At WTO

Published on 26 March 2013 @ 8:02 pm

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By William New <http://www.ip-watch.org/author/william/>, Intellectual 
Property Watch

A clause found to be unfairly protecting a rum company's US market by 
denying trademark rights quietly stuck into a US Congress appropriations 
bill in the deep of night in the late 1990s continues to haunt the halls 
of the World Trade Organization -- but that does not seem to trouble US 
trade authorities. And this is not the only intellectual 
property-related case being met with US indifference, an irony for 
possibly the biggest proponent of IP rights in the world.

"The conduct of the United States unscrupulously discredits the WTO 
dispute settlement system and also constitutes an affront to the 
intellectual property rights," Cuba said today.

At a WTO Dispute Settlement Body meeting today, a number of WTO members 
fired shots at the US delegation for its continued failure to change its 
laws to comply with WTO rulings that found it out of compliance on 
intellectual property-related issues.

This includes the case involving a rum trademark dating back over a 
decade, and a more recent case involving a US online gambling ban that 
led a WTO panel to authorise the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda 
to extract payment by not protecting US IP rights until it complies.

The irony of the US as IP scofflaw was not lost on competitors like 
Antigua and Barbuda or Cuba, which said the US slackness discredits its 
IP rights enforcement campaign as well as the very WTO dispute 
settlement process itself.

"It is very ironic to observe the United States projecting laws on 
intellectual property, despite keeping violations as egregious as 
Section 211," under which the Bacardi Company continues to market rum 
labelled Havana Club, which is otherwise owned by Cuba and partners. 
"This is one of the most famous cases of trademark counterfeiting and 
conducting misleading advertising by a company backed by the US 
legislation."

The lack of any substantive change by the United States in today's 
report to the DSB "is irrefutable proof that this country has [done] 
nothing during more than 11 years to comply with the DSB recommendations 
and rulings, which ruled the incompatibility of "Section 211 of the 
Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1998" with the TRIPS Agreement and the 
Paris Convention," the Cuban ambassador to the WTO said in a translated 
statement. TRIPS is the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights. Cuba has interest in the rum case because 
it is a part owner of the rum trademark everywhere in the world except 
the United States.

"The legislative projects to which the US delegation makes reference in 
their reports each month remain stagnant because it does not constitute 
a priority or real interest for the administration or the Congress of 
that country," Cuba said. "However, by their displaying of incoherent 
foreign policy, we frequently observe how that Member promotes 
initiatives in terms of 'enforcement of intellectual property rights.'"

For instance, Cuba said the recently announced US-European Union trade 
agreement contains the goal of "maintaining and promoting a high level 
of protection" of IPRs.

Even the 27-member European Union weighed in on the Section 211 case, 
thanking the US for its report and adding the hope that "US authorities 
will very soon take steps towards implementing the DSB ruling and 
resolve this matter." The EU also urged that the US also comply with 
another IP case -- Section 110(5) of the US Copyright Act -- which 
involved the US commercial practice of playing music recordings, such as 
Irish music, aloud in bars without paying royalties. "We refer to our 
previous statements that we would like to resolve this case as soon as 
possible," the EU said.

Venezuela joined Cuba in condemning the United States for its failure to 
comply with the rum case, and raised deep concerns about a continued 
lack of action. "This situation is unacceptable, disappointing, and 
worrying, not only because it affects a developing country member of 
this organisation, but also for the grave repercussions against the 
credibility of DSB and the multilateral system of trade," Venezuela said 
in its statement (unofficial translation).

Zimbabwe also spoke in support of Cuba, saying, "Once again, it is 
regrettable that the United States of America continues to disregard the 
rulings and recommendations of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body in the 
dispute."

The United States for its part had numerous complaints about other 
nations, such as the European Union's slow adherence to a ruling 
requiring it to accept biotech products.

Antigua and Barbuda: Last Call for US Settlement

Meanwhile, in the high-profile online gambling case where Antigua and 
Barbuda have been given the green light to retaliate under the TRIPS 
Agreement by not protecting US IPRs, the tiny nation today again 
appealed the United States to show progress toward complying with the 
WTO ruling.

"The delegation of Antigua and Barbuda has so far not seen substantial 
progress on compliance by the United States with the DSB's decision," 
the country said in a shortened version of its statement. "Nor have they 
seen substantial progress by the United States in achieving a settlement 
with Antigua and Barbuda."

The country said it is "disappointed" by the lack of progress as the 
"negative consequences of this protracted impasse are very real for 
Antigua and Barbuda." It said the case is a test for member states 
"seeking to determine whether the [WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding] 
can deliver practical and timely benefits for small and vulnerable 
countries."

It demanded a reason why after 5 years the US still cannot honour the 
DSB decision nor reach an agreed settlement. In January, the DSB 
authorised Antigua and Barbuda to use cross-retaliation under TRIPS to 
recover its damages.

"But before it sets its foot to that path, Antigua and Barbuda appeals 
to the United States to make one last effort at bringing its complex 
bureaucratic structure to a decision that will avoid unpredictable 
consequences," it said. "The delegation of Antigua and Barbuda also 
appeals to the DSB to realize that justice delayed is justice denied, 
and urges closer attention to the systemic issues that surround this 
case that threaten the health of the system the WTO has for the 
resolution of trade disputes."

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