Saudi Arabia told the World Trade Organisation on Tuesday that national security concerns meant it “simply will not engage in dispute settlement procedures” in an intellectual property complaint by Qatar.
Qatar launched the dispute in October saying Saudi Arabia was blocking Qatari-owned broadcaster beIN and refusing to take effective action against the piracy of its content by a sophisticated operation called “beoutQ”.
BeoutQ, a 10-channel system broadcasting to the Middle East on the Arabsat satellite operator, is allegedly being transmitted from Saudi Arabia.
BeIN Media Group, the Doha-based sports network that holds exclusive rights to broadcast all major international sports events to the MENA region, has claimed beoutQ is stealing its signal and broadcasting it as its own.
The piracy row between Doha and Riyadh escalated during the FIFA World Cup in Russia in June, when beoutQ illegally distributed football matches in the Middle East.
FIFA, football’s governing body, said in July it had engaged counsel to take legal action in Saudi Arabia and urged Saudi authorities to help in “the fight against piracy”.
Other sports federations also issued similar statements, condemning beoutQ’s pirated coverage in the MENA region.
On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia – alongside fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries Bahrain and the UAE, as well as Egypt imposed a sea, air and land blockade on Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and destabilising the region, allegations Doha has consistently denied.
Qatar first turned to the WTO in August 2017 with a wide-ranging complaint to challenge the trade boycott by the blockading nations.
On Tuesday, representatives of the United States, Egypt and Bahrain supported the Saudi position at a WTO dispute settlement meeting, while the European Union and Turkish diplomats spoke up in support of Qatar, a Geneva trade official said.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
