Qatar has been subjected to an unjust blockade by neighbouring countries since June, 2017.

While Qatar took the path of negotiation and reconciliation, the neighbours have been in no mood to listen to reason. Finally, Qatar began pushing back legally, taking some of the nations to the International Court of Justice over the blockade and human rights violations.

Qatari owned BeIn Sports is seeking more than $1bn in damages for losses it blames on Saudi Arabia over what it called the "state-sponsored illegal broadcast piracy" https://t.co/qGBV1Sg9nM

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 1, 2018

Qatari sports broadcaster beIN Sport has launched the $1bn compensation claim, accusing Saudi Arabia of ‘breaching international law’ in relation to the illegal streaming of sporting events beIN owns the rights to, reported Al Jazeera.

In a separate development, Qatar also launched new proceedings against Saudi Arabia at the WTO, accusing the kingdom of intellectual property rights violations.

The moves were announced by the Doha-based sports broadcasting giant and Qatar’s ministry of economy and commerce. However, it is as yet unclear where the compensation claim will be heard, reported Money Control.

beIN Sports said it had suffered badly in its biggest broadcast market, with millions of viewers stopping subscriptions for major sporting events like the FIFA football World Cup, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League and Formula One racing, according to Gulf Times.

As an alternative to beIN, people are able to watch a pirate station — beoutQ — which is being transmitted via Riyadh-based satellite provider Arabsat, owned by Saudi Arabia.

The broadcasts are exactly the same except a beoutQ logo being superimposed over the beIN Sport one.

 

Qatar begin WTO proceedings against Saudi Arabia

Part of Qatar’s concerns involve the blocking of Qatari broadcaster beIN in Saudi Arabia. Qatar’s ministry has also accused Riyadh of refusing to take effective action against the piracy of beIN content in the kingdom, reported The Peninsula.

In accordance with Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, Qatar’s Office at the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland, submitted a request for formal consultations.

Qatar initiates new proceedings against Saudi Arabia before WTO Dispute Settlement Body over intellectual property rights violations. https://t.co/Sz60EHUmSJ pic.twitter.com/l8ZnELV5R0

— وزارة الاقتصاد والتجارة (@MEC_QATAR) October 1, 2018

It includes Saudi Arabia’s violations against Qatar with respect to the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).

“Since June 2017, Saudi Arabia has taken diplomatic, political and economic measures against Qatar.  Saudi Arabia's actions represent not only a violation of Qatar's trade rights but also affects the rights of other trading partners. The new dispute focuses on violations with respect to the protection of intellectual property rights in the Kingdom,” the statement from the ministry said.

Contrary to its obligations under the TRIPS Agreement, Saudi Arabia has, among other things, refused to take any effective action against beoutQ, restricted or otherwise frustrated beIN's ability to pursue civil actions before the Saudi courts, denounced beIN’s requests to investigate and prevent the pirate's unauthorised broadcasts and promoted public gatherings with screenings of beoutQ’s unauthorised broadcasts.