The WTO finally awarded damages against the U.S. based on the failure to comply with previous rulings against it. The decision gives Antigua the right to ignore U.S. intellectual property rights – opening the possibility for Antiguan citizens to freely engage in the duplication of software, music and movies made in the USA.

Microsoft Word anyone?

The New York Times provides a nice summary:

In an unusual ruling on Friday at the World Trade Organization, the Caribbean nation of Antigua won the right to violate copyright protections on goods like films and music from the United States — an award worth up to $21 million — as part of a dispute between the countries over online gambling.

The award follows a W.T.O. ruling that Washington had wrongly blocked online gambling operators on the island from the American market at the same time it allowed online wagering on horse racing.

Antigua and Barbuda had claimed damages of $3.44 billion a year. That makes the relatively small amount awarded Friday, $21 million, something of a setback for Antigua, which had been struggling to preserve its gambling industry.

The United States argued that its behavior had caused $500,000 damage.

Yet the ruling is significant in that it grants a rare form of compensation: the right of one country, in this case Antigua, to violate intellectual property laws of another — the United States — by allowing it to distribute copies of American music, movie and software products.

“That has only been done once before and is, I believe, a very potent weapon,” said Mark Mendel, a lawyer representing Antigua, after the ruling. “I hope that the United States government will now see the wisdom in reaching some accommodation with Antigua over this dispute.”

Whether or not Antigua will actually go ahead and start pirating U.S. intellectual property remains to be seen. There are many ways the U.S. can apply pressure to prevent them from doing this. It will be interesting to see what unfolds in the upcoming weeks and months…