Could United takeover deal be in jeopardy?

WHAT NOW FOR THE MAGPIES AND ASHLEY AFTER THE WTO REPORT HAS LANDED?

SAUDI Arabia have not provided ‘criminal procedures and penalties’ to tackle pirate pay broadcaster beoutQ, according to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The WTO, which is the only international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations, have published a 125-page panel report on ‘Saudi Arabia – measures concerning the protection of intellectual property rights’ following a complaint raised by Qatar.

Saudi Arabia were accused of failing to ‘provide adequate protection of intellectual property rights held by or applied for entities based in Qatar.’

This, of course, relates to the blocking of beIN SPORTS and the Kingdom’s links to beoutQ, which simulcasted the Qatar-based channel’s broadcasts.

It must be stressed that there is no mention of Newcastle United or the club’s prospective takeover in the detailed report, but there are a number references to the Premier League, including letters written by the governing body reporting beoutQ’s use of particular Arabsat satellite frequencies to transmit its pirated content.

With respect to Qatar’s claims, the three-person panel made a number of conclusions in the report, including:

Qatar has established that Saudi Arabia has taken measures that, directly or indirectly, have had the result of preventing beIN from obtaining Saudi legal counsel to enforce its IP rights through civil enforcement procedures before Saudi courts and tribunals, and thus Saudi Arabia has acted in a manner inconsistent with Article 42 and Article 41.1 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Qatar has established that Saudi

Arabia has not provided for criminal procedures and penalties to be applied to beoutQ despite the evidence establishing prima facie that beoutQ is operated by individuals or entities under the jurisdiction of Saudi Arabia, and thus Saudi Arabia has acted inconsistently with Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement.

It is also worth taking note of the report’s overall statement, which states: “The Panel considers that the evidence which was provided to Saudi authorities by beIN and other third-party right holders, and which has now been corroborated and supplemented by further evidence submitted to the Panel, supports Qatar’s assertions that: (a) beoutQ’s piracy was promoted by prominent Saudi nationals, (b) beoutQ targets the Saudi market, (c) beoutQ’s pirate broadcasts are transmitted via Arabsat satellite frequencies, and (d) beoutQ has received assistance from a Saudi content distributor in delivering its pirated broadcasts to Saudi consumers. Taking these conclusions together, and recalling the applicable standard of proof and evidentiary principles in WTO dispute settlement 571, the Panel considers that Qatar has established a prima facie case that beoutQ is operated by individuals or entities subject to the criminal jurisdiction of Saudi Arabia.’ Newcastle’s prospective takeover remains in the hands of the Premier League, who have been carrying out their owners’ and directors’ test for a while now. The Premier League have to decide whether the allegations the Saudi state have facilitated piracy are grounds to reject the takeover and whether these allegations can be linked to owners or directors the consortium have nominated.

It must be stressed that there is no mention of Newcastle United or the club’s prospective takeover in the detailed report