http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/valleywag.com.png http://valleywag.com/tag/intellectual property http://valleywag.com/tag/intellectual property Antigua has fired a salvo against the United States in a long-simmering dispute over trade regulations, promising to give free reign to intellectual property piracy if the US doesn't allow Americans to access Antigua's lucrative online gambling businesses. The World Trade Organization awarded the tiny island nation the right to ignore American copyright laws last December if negotations fail. Antigua's hope is that the Motion Picture Association of America and software companies like Microsoft will pressure the US government to come to terms — after all, The Pirate Bay has been looking for an island paradise. Why doesn't Antigua threaten to publish details of the local tax shelters used by studio and tech executives and their financiers? That seems easier. (Photo by AP/Johnny Jno-Baptiste)

]]> Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:00:24 PDT Jackson West http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=370004&view=rss&microfeed=true Someday Vanity Fair will hire feature writers who don't feel compelled to frontload their articles with 1,000-word ledes. In the meantime, The Pirate Bay — the Swedish-based torrent tracker that's currently sponsoring a collection of Oscar-film download links — gets a longform VF spotlight. Interesting timing, given today's decision by a Belgian court to punish Google for linking to copyrighted material. Despite the successes of the Swedish pirates, the rest of Fortress Europe may be closing their portcullises on intellectual property. ]]> Tue, 13 Feb 2007 12:30:01 PST Chris Mohney http://valleywag.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=236234&view=rss&microfeed=true