[A2k] US government proposes sweeping new IPR rules for Internet

[James Love]

http://www.cptech.org/blogs/wipocastingtreaty/

WIPO Casting Treaty

Thursday, August 03, 2006
US government proposes sweeping new IPR rules for Internet
by James Packard Love

Here is the new US submission on the "webcasting" issue, which the US
now wants to rename as "netcasting." The US does not offer a
restrictive definition of what would be protected. It is broad. It
offers a contradictary statement at the end. On the one hand, it
claims they only want protection for signal piracy -- an approach
that would not create a new intellectual property layer for
transmitting information on the Internet. On the other hand, the US
says: "the United States continues to believe that the protection for
netcasting should be the same as that provided for traditional
broadcasters and cablecasters." Anyone who actually knows anything
about the negotiations on this topics knows that with 83 countries
having already signed the Rome Convention (which the US never signed,
and does not follow), and with the European Commission deeply dug in
on this issue, any new treaty for traditional broadcasting is
expected to expand upon the rights of the Rome convention. The US
government will have to decided, which of these two positions will be
more important? To protect "netcasting" the same as broadcasting (in
Europe), or to only protect netcasting from piracy? It appears as if
AT&T has pretty much steered the US government back into the backing
of "parity" between traditional broadcasting and netcasting, which
will be a disaster for the Internet, if this approach is successful.

Completely ignored were any of our recommendations regarding the
definitions of protected content.  (http://www.cptech.org/blogs/
wipocastingtreaty/2006/07/definition-of-webcasting.html)

Here is the US submission:

SUBMISSION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE
WIPO STANDING COMMITTEE ON COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS

The United States is pleased to make this submission of proposed
definitions to cover broadcasting-like activities over computer
networks, together with an Explanatory Memorandum. This is the third
submission the United States has made to the Standing Committee on
Copyright and Related Rights on the protection of the rights of
broadcasting, cablecasting and webcasting organizations. In October
2002, the United States submitted its first proposal to this
Committee (SCCR/8/7, October 21, 2002) which set forth the initial
position of the United States on this issue. In June 2003, based on
discussions within the prior Standing Committee meetings, the United
States submitted a revised proposal (SCCR/9/4 Rev., May 1, 2003).
Both of the proposals submitted by the United States have been widely
discussed during subsequent meetings of the Standing Committee.
During the Fourteenth Session of the Standing Committee in May 2006,
the Chair requested new proposals on the issue of =93webcasting=94 to be
submitted by August 1, 2006. Since the May Standing Committee
meeting, in response to concerns and questions raised at prior
meetings and after further consideration of the issues and
discussions with interested parties, we have amended our proposal to
clarify the meaning and scope of the protection for organizations
which transmit signals over computer networks in the same manner as
broadcasters and cablecasters. We hope these changes stimulate
further discussion and facilitate achieving a broader agreement on
the objectives to be attained.

United States of America
Submission to the World Intellectual Property Organization
Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights

August 1, 2006

(a) =93netcasting=94 means the transmission by wire or wireless means
over a computer network, such as through Internet protocol or any
successor protocol, for simultaneous or near-simultaneous reception
by members of the public, at a time determined solely by the
netcasting organization, of sounds or of images or of images and
sounds or of the representation thereof,

(1) that are of a program or programs consisting of pre-recorded,
scheduled audio, visual or audiovisual content of the type that can
be carried by the program-carrying signal of a broadcast or
cablecast; or

(2) that are of an organized live event transmitted concurrently
where the organizer of such event has granted permission to transmit
the event; or

(3) that are also being cablecast or broadcast at the same time.
If encrypted, such transmissions shall be considered netcasting where
the means for decrypting are provided to the public by the netcasting
organization or with its consent.

(b) =93netcasting organization=94 means the legal entity that takes the
initiative and has the responsibility for the assembly and scheduling
of the content of netcasts.

Agreed statement concerning these definitions: The scope of the
definition of =93netcasting=94 is intended to be limited to transmissions
over computer networks carrying programs consisting of audio, visual
or audio-visual content or representations thereof which are of the
type that can be, but are not necessarily, carried by the program
carrying signal of a broadcast or cablecast, and which are delivered
to the public in a format similar to broadcasting or cablecasting. By
its terms, =93netcasting=94 does not include merely providing access to
audio or video content that is not pre-recorded for purposes of
transmission via broadcast, cablecast or netcast.

Explanatory Note of Proposed Definitions

In response to the request from the Chair of the 14th Session of the
Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, the United States
submits these proposed definitions to clarify the scope of the
protection for organizations which transmit signals over computer
networks in the same manner as broadcasters and cablecasters. In
proposing that the treaty cover =93webcasting,=94 the United States has
never intended that protection be afforded to the ordinary use of the
Internet or World Wide Web, such as through e-mail, blogs, websites
and the like. We intended only to cover programming and signals which
are like traditional broadcasting and cablecasting, i.e. simultaneous
transmission of scheduled programming for reception by the public.
The proposed definitions are intended to make that narrow scope more
clear.

The proposed definitions use a new term, =93netcasting,=94 to describe
computer-based transmission of signals. This is intended to avoid
confusion with the old term =93webcasting,=94 which unnecessarily implied
that ordinary activity on the World Wide Web would be covered by the
definition. The substance of the definition modifies the definition
in the current draft proposal by drawing from the definition of
broadcasting over the Internet as used in United Kingdom law
protecting broadcasting organizations.

With respect to the scope of protection and other provisions
applicable to netcasting, the United States continues to believe that
the protection for netcasting should be the same as that provided for
traditional broadcasters and cablecasters, and that any such
protection should be only what is necessary to protect against signal
piracy. To that end, we look forward to discussion of the appropriate
level of protection for netcasting with the benefit of the
discussions from the next meeting of the Standing Committee that
addresses traditional broadcasters.

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James Love, CPTech / www.cptech.org / mailto:james.love@cptech.org /
tel. +1.202.332.2670 / mobile +1.202.361.3040

"If everyone thinks the same: No one thinks."  Bill Walton