GCC diplomatic crisis update: Qatar’s new request for consultation with Saudi to address IP violations
Further to a series of posts [ here , here , here , here ] devoted to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) crisis, Katfriend Riyadh Al-Balushi (PhD candidate at SOAS University of London) is back with an update on the latest developments. Here’s what Riyadh writes: The GCC diplomatic crisis has not been resolved until now as the blockade imposed last year by Saudi, the UAE, and Bahrain on Qatar remains effective with no prospect of a solution anywhere in sight. As I have written before, this blockade has implications on a variety of intellectual property issues , with the piracy of beIN Sports being one of the most prominent examples of the extent of damage that this dispute may cause. Qatar made an attempt at using the WTO dispute resolution mechanism to seek a remedy to address a variety of alleged violations committed by Saudi, the UAE, and Bahrain. These alleged violations include a number of violations of the TRIPS Agreement . In accordance with the WTO dispute resolution mech...