During a meeting held today in Geneva, the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced a positive decision on the request of Antigua. The small Caribbean island had already received a preliminary approval on its request since 2007 but today it was vindicated with a final decision. This means that the local authorities can proceed with their plan to create a portal that will offer movies, music and software, without paying compensation to the American companies that produce them, that is, copyrights.
We published the news about the island of Antigua and Barbuda 4 days ago. A government that would run a “pirate” website sounds unprecedented, but according to the WTO’s findings, it is not impossible.
The small Caribbean island (referring to the Pirates of the Caribbean) now has its official license, so it can start setting up the first legal Warez site.
This decision confirms the preliminary approval granted to Antigua in 2007 after the country won a game related to a trade dispute against the United States.
At the moment, it is still unclear what Antigua's exact plans are, but as reported to TorrentFreak, the online portal will offer movies, TV shows, music, as well as software worldwide.
Antigua's Finance Minister Harold Lovell said the US has no choice but to watch his party's government build the new website, as Antigua's gambling businesses have been hit by US unfair practices and years of negotiations have not yielded any compromise.
The government has not given a timeframe for the launch of the legal pirate website, which has been in the works for a few months.
So far, the US has warned Antigua that a government that authorizes piracy will harm ongoing settlement talks.
