Pirate of the Caribbean: TT on US watchlist for IP infringements

A NEW report from the Office of the United States Trade Representative, released Wednesday, places Trinidad and Tobago on a watchlist for intellectual property violations, citing “a lack of enforcement actions.” Specifically, TT failed to make good on promises to crack down on operators that broadcast unauthorised cable and satellite channels.

The country had been removed from this watchlist in 2016 after pledging to take action against these illegal operators. “The United States will monitor enforcement efforts and efforts to addressing long-standing concerns, including copyright piracy and payment of royalties.” The report is the result of an annual review of the state of intellectual property protection and enforcement in US trading partners around the world.

In 2016, the Telecommunications Authority of TT (TATT) took steps to enforce an agreement with domestic broadcasters to protect intellectual property, the report said. That agreement prohibits those broadcasters from transmitting any programme, information, or other material without first obtaining all required permissions from the relevant intellectual property right holders.

“At the time, TT cable and satellite services removed a number of unauthorised channels, and TATT pledged to take further enforcement action. Yet, progress has stalled since 2016, after TATT exercised forbearance on enforcement against operators that continue to retransmit US over-the-air broadcast signals without authorisation.” TATT’s acting CEO Cynthia Reddock-Downes did not immediately respond when reached for comment.

In October 2019, TATT announced it was ending the forbearance (grace) period by the end of the year. It has since extended it at least two times, most recently to July 31, 2020.

“Moreover, the United States remains concerned about the lack of enforcement action against companies in TT violating the agreement, particularly the two state-owned telecommunications networks that broadcast unlicensed U.S. content,” the report said. Other concerns include optical disc music and video piracy and non-payment of copyright royalties, as well as online piracy and counterfeit pharmaceuticals and other goods. “The United States will engage with Trinidad and Tobago to monitor enforcement of the agreement with broadcasters to combat the transmission of unauthorised content and to seek progress on other intellectual property issues.”

Other countries on the watch list were Barbados (also because of errant cable and satellite operators); Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekista and Vietnam. Countries on the priority watch list are Algeria, Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Venezuela.