Qatar WTO Complaint: Saudi, UAE, Bahrain Restrictions Violate IP Rights

The government of Qatar has requested World Trade Organization dispute settlement consultations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia over restrictions ranging from goods and services, to maritime travel and airspace, to intellectual property rights. In the filing, Qatar complains the countries are engaging in “coercive attempts at economic isolation,” including blocking copyrighted works. 

The related WTO documents are: WT/DS526/1 (UAE), WT/DS527/1 (Bahrain), and WT/DS528/1 (Saudi Arabia).

The three documents make similar or identical arguments.

Document WT/DS526/1 • G/L/1180 • S/L/415 • IP/D/35 (UAE) dated 4 August states:

“7. In respect of trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, the coercive attempts at economic isolation entail interference with intellectual property rights enjoyed by nationals of Qatar. Specifically, these measures include prohibitions or restrictions on displaying and accessing television content over which Qatari nationals hold copyrights and related broadcasting rights.”

[For Saudi Arabia, the complaint adds: “These also include measures that prohibit or restrict making of payments to (or receiving of payments by) Qatari television broadcasters.”]

The complaints details the concerns as such:

“15. Third, it appears that certain measures contravene provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. Specifically, certain measures appear to violate:

(i) Article 3 [National Treatment] of the TRIPS Agreement, because, by:

– making it impossible for holders of licenses to copyrights, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property owned by Qatari nationals to honour their obligations under licensing agreements; and,
– making it impossible for Qatari owners of copyrights, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property, and their licensees, to use those intellectual property rights in the territory of the UAE, the UAE appears to have failed to accord to the nationals of Qatar treatment no less favourable than that it accords to its own nationals with regard to the protection of intellectual property.

(j) Article 4 [Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment] of the TRIPS Agreement, because, by:

– making it impossible for holders of licenses to copyrights, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property owned by Qatari nationals to honour their obligations under licensing agreements; and,
– making it impossible for Qatari owners of copyrights, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property, and their licensees, to use those intellectual property rights in the territory of the UAE, the UAE appears to have failed to accord, immediately and unconditionally, to the nationals of Qatar, advantages, favours, privileges and immunities granted by it to the nationals of other countries with regard to the protection of intellectual property.”

Under WTO rules, if the parties fail to resolve the issue after 60 days, the complaining country can request the formation of dispute panel. The WTO press release on this complaint is here.