[A2k] EDRi statement at IIM
Volker Grassmuck
vgrass@rz.hu-berlin.de
Sat Apr 16 07:54:08 2005
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Please find an html version attached. Best wishes to you all.
Volker
European Digital Rights (EDRi)
Statement at the WIPO Development Agenda Meeting, 11-13 April 2005
The European Digital Rights initiative (EDRi) represents 17 privacy
and civil rights organisations from 11 European countries. We welcome
the proposal tabled by Argentina and Brazil and elaborated by the
Group of Friends of Development for a Development Agenda for WIPO. In
particular, we would like to emphasize the need for assessing the
developmental impact before and after any norm-setting.
An example is the conflict between circumvention protection of DRM
and copyright exceptions. Article 11 of the WIPO Copyright Treaty
obligates Members to "provide adequate legal protection and effective
legal remedies against the circumvention of effective technological
measures." Many WIPO Members, including most European countries have
therefore introduced anti-circumvention provisions into their
national laws. More and more works now get published in technically
protected formats.
=B7=09Many European countries have put in place mechanisms in an attempt
to re-establish the balance that DRM tilts to the disadvantage of the
public interest. Beneficiaries of exceptions such as disabled persons
or educators have been given means to enforce access to protected
works to the degree granted to them by law. It is still too early to
tell how effective these remedies will turn out to be. However, no
such measures have been implemented so far in developing nations.
=B7=09An agreement has recently been reached between the German
Publishers Association, the German Phonographic Industry and the
German Library to enable the National Library to circumvent DRMs for
preservation purposes. This is a landmark decision in Europe which is
likely to be replicated only in special circumstances and in few
countries around the world.
=B7=09In the home environment, industry is marketing complete home
entertainment networks that allow untrestricted copying and sharing
of DRM protected works within this network. These options however,
are only available to those who can afford a complete system which is
out of reach of many consumers in the developed countries let alone
of the majority in the developing world.
It therefore appears that while developing nations are getting the
same -- some would argue excessive -- level of technologically
implemented IP protection as developed nations, they are lacking the
corresponding mechanisms that counterbalance IP protection with
access to knowledge.
In 1996 it was already evident that the anticircumention provision of
Art. 11 WCT has implications for limitations and exceptions. An
assessment of its impact on access to knowledge, on the public domain
and on developing nations in particular would have resulted in a
different norm-setting. An impact assessment now, after the WCT has
been implemented by a significant number of Member States, in turn,
will show a need for appropriate action to counteract unwanted
consequences.
The issue we have raised is not only one of north-south discrepancy.
WIPO rulemaking concerning DRM has only taken the first step. Part of
the next step towards re-establishing balance is defining a set of
minimum unwaivable exceptions as has been suggested by the
distinguished delegate from Chile at the last SCCR meeting. In
particular, as the only mandatory exception under Berne, there must
be a mechanism to protect the quotation exception against DRM, as
pointed out by Sam Ricketson in a WIPO study on limitations and
exceptions.
DRM has a structural, inherent tendency to escalate the discrepancy
between developed and developing nations. Equity does not mean "one
size fits all." Therefore, integrating development aspects into all
of WIPO's activities, providing flexibilites and "policy space" to
members, and mandating development assessment studies preceding and
acompanying any norm-making, as suggested by the Development Agenda
proposal are steps that we warmly encourage WIPO delegates to pursue.
European Digital Rights
Kandelaarsstraat 23
B1000 Brussels, Belgium
http://www.edri.org/
Geneva, 13 April 2005
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iRights http://iRights.info
WOS http://wizards-of-os.org
copy =3D right http://privatkopie.net
home: http://waste.informatik.hu-berlin.de/Grassmuck
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