[A2k] South Centre Research Paper on the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations and Considerations for Developing Countries and other stakeholders

[musungu@southcentre.org]

Geneva, Monday 11 September 2006

The South Centre has just released a pre-publication (draft) research paper
titled "The Proposed WIPO Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasting
Organisations: Are New Rights Warranted and Will Developing Countries
Benefit". The paper written by Viviana Munoz Tellez, of the Innovation,
Access to Knowledge and IP (IAIP) Programme of the South Centre and Andrew
Chege Waitara a researcher at the Plato Institute in Nairobi, discusses the
main elements of the proposed treaty in the context of the evolving role
and concept of broadcasting, the role of broadcasting organisations in
developing countries and the existing international legal framework for
copyright and related rights. Among others, the paper finds that:
1. The objective of the Revised Draft Proposal is said to be to protect
broadcasting and cablecasting organisations against signal theft yet the
Draft Basic Proposal continues to be filled with ambiguity on whether the
protection extends only to signals, or the content represented by the
signal or both.
2. The Revised Draft Proposal provides broadcasting and cablecasting
organisations a number of exclusive rights and creates obligations for
States to protect technological measures that such organisations may
utilise to control access to their broadcasts and/or cablecasts, regardless
of whether the content is copyrighted or in the public domain. Such rights
would be provided as rewards to investments made by the organisations, when
there is no evidence to suggest that these are necessary.
3. The new General Public Interest Clauses, Clause on Competition and
alternative provisions on Limitations and Exceptions included in the
Revised Draft Proposal are fundamental in ensuring that the rights granted
to broadcasting and cablecasting organisations are balanced with the rights
of copyright owners and other related rights holders as well as the public
interest in access and dissemination of information.
4. The term of protection of 50 years proposed in the Revised Draft Basic
Proposal extends beyond what is necessary for broadcasting and cablecasting
organisations to recoup investments (if investment was found to be a
justifiable basis for providing exclusive rights), and would restrict the
flow of information, competition and retard technological innovation.

The paper is available on South Centre's website at
http://www.southcentre.org/publications/researchpapers/ResearchPapers9.pdf

Best regards,

SF.

Sisule F. Musungu
Acting Coordinator
Innovation, Access to Knowledge and Intellectual Property Programme (IAIPP)
South Centre
Ch. du Champ d'Anier 17, POB 228,
1211 Geneva 19
Switzerland.
Tel: ++41 22 791 81 65
Fax: ++ 41 22 798 85 31
E-mail: Musungu@Southcentre.org
Website: http:// www.southcentre.org