Mubasher: The World Trade Organization (WTO) is to commence a dispute inquiry to find whether Saudi Arabia failed to take action in pirated broadcasts of Qatari television, according to a Qatari trade official.

The GCC dispute puts the screws on the growing list of national-security cases under consideration by the trade body that was never intended to step in such matters, Bloomberg News reported.

The Geneva-based organisation will form “a panel of three dispute-settlement experts to evaluate Qatar’s allegations that Saudi Arabia violated the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, which sets international trade rules regarding IP rights,” it added.

Earlier this year, Qatar, the world’s biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), claimed that Saudi “broadcast pirate named beoutQ” retransmitted TV content produced by the Qatari sports broadcaster beIN Media Group via the internet and satellite services.

The Saudi government rejected to take any actions against beoutQ, turned down beIN’s requests to probe into the matter, and promoted public gatherings with screenings of the unauthorised sports broadcasts, the Qatari government said in the complaint.

Moreover, BeIN separately filed an international investment arbitration case against Saudi Arabia seeking a damage of $1 billion over pirated broadcasts, Bloomberg said.

The Saudi Arabian government’s “apparent conviction that its measures are immune from review undermines the foundations of international IP protection,” Qatari trade official Saleh Al-Mana told the New York-based news agency.

Sophie Jordan, executive director of legal affairs at beIN Media Group, called for holding those responsible for the Saudi-based pirate operation accountable.