UNITED STATES – SECTION 110(5) OF THE US COPYRIGHT ACT
Document: Recourse to Article 25 of the DSU
Date: 3 August 2001
Document codes: WT/DS160/15
Complainant: EU
Respondent: U.S.
Third parties: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Switzerland
Dispute stage: Panel
Agreements cited: Art. 9.1  Intellectual Property (TRIPS)

UNITED STATES – SECTION 110(5) OF THE US COPYRIGHT ACT
Recourse to Article 25 of the DSU
The following communication, dated 23 July 2001, from the Permanent Mission of the
United States and the Permanent Delegation of the European Commission to the Chairman of the
Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated in accordance with Article 25.2 of the DSU.
The United States and the European Communities (EC), having mutually agreed pursuant to
Article 25.2 of the Understanding on Rules and Proce dures for the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) to
enter into arbitration to determine the level of nullif ication or impairment of benefits to the EC as a
result of Section 110(5)(B) of the US Copyright Act, respectfully request that you contact the original
panelists in the dispute "United States – Secti on 110(5) of the US Copyright Act" (WT/DS160), to
determine their availability to serve as arbitrators in this proceeding. The parties also request you to
ask the Director-General to assist the parties in selecting alternative panelists if the original panelists
are unavailable and to provide Secretariat support for this proceeding.
The parties agree that the award of the arbitrator shall be final, and they shall accept it as the
level of nullification or impairment for purposes of any future proceedings under Article 22 of the
DSU related to this dispute.
Accompanying this letter is an annex containing agreed procedures for the Article 25
proceeding. Please circulate this letter and its annex to the Dispute Settlement Body in advance of the
commencement of the arbitration in accordance with Article 25.2.
(s) Carlo Trojan (s) Linnet F. Deily
Ambassador Ambassador
For the European Communities For the United States of America

Annex
Agreed Procedures and Timetable for Article 25 Arbitration
1. The arbitration shall be carried out by the original panel. Should any of the members of the
original panel not be available for the arbitration, and the parties to the arbitration do not
agree on a replacement, the parties shall request the Director-General of the WTO to appoint
a replacement within one week of the request.
2. The legal principles developed in former arbitration proceedings under Article 22 of the DSU,
such as the allocation of the burden of proof between the parties, shall apply to this
arbitration.
3. The arbitration proceedings shall consist of the following steps, in this order: communication
by the EC concerning the claimed level of nullification or impairment together with the
methodology of calculation of such level; written first submissions and rebuttal submissions
submitted simultaneously by both parties; meeting with the parties.
4. The arbitration shall not include third parties.
5. The proceedings shall aim to be completed no later than 25 September 2001.
6. The arbitrators shall develop a schedule and any additional working procedures as necessary,
in consultation with the parties.
7. This arbitration shall terminate if the US request for an extension of the reasonable period of
time (WT/DS160/14) is not granted at the DSB meeting beginning on 24 July 2001.