Zookz: Unlimited Downloads For One Monthly Fee
Antigua Based Site Says Not Subject To US Copyright Law
$9.85 per month for unlimited music or movie downloads and $17.95 per month for both. One can already imagine the RIAA lawyers drawing straws to see who gets to spend some time on the Caribbean isle of Antigua litigating against Zookz.com..Currently just 50,000 tracks and 1500 movies are available for downloading from their "safe database" but many more are promised. Is it legal? The site claims to be covered by a 2005 WTO Trade agreement between the US and Antigua. It's hard to imagine that will stand for long. But iif you're willing to share your credit card info then cancel you vacation plans, fire up your hard drive(s) and let the downloading begin.
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The story so far: The World Trade Organization ruled that US actions against Antigua online gambling sites were illegal, because the US allows other forms of gambling. The WTO said this action by the US represented an illegal protection of a domestic gambling business.
As the US declined to change its position on online gambling, the WTO granted Antigua the privilege retaliation against the USA: the WTO authorized Antigua to violate US copyrights on music and movies.
Here’s a NYTimes story from 2007:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/business/worldbusiness/21iht-wto.html
Now, the interesting question becomes: what is a US copyright? For example, Zookz is trumpeting that they are offering files by The Beatles. Did the WTO intend that Zookz be limited to offering the content of American artists?