[A2k] WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Update

[Gwen Hinze]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
FYI notes from day 5 of WIPO SCCR S2 on the proposed Broadcasting
Treaty and text of final conclusion are now posted at EFF's Deeplinks
blog:

<http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005333.php>

And here's our take:

Blogging WIPO: Broadcasting Treaty Deferred Indefinitely
June 22, 2007

Negotiations on the proposed WIPO Broadcasting Treaty ended on Friday
with some welcome news. WIPO Member States agreed to postpone the
high-level intergovernmental Diplomatic Conference at which the draft
treaty could have been adopted, and have moved discussions back to
regular committee meetings, down a notch from the last two "Special
Session" meetings.

The Diplomatic Conference had been scheduled to take place in
November 2007. It has now been postponed indefinitely until Member
States reach agreement on the objectives, specific scope and object
of protection of the proposed treaty. Given the vast differences
between Member States' positions that emerged this week on core parts
of the treaty, agreement does not look likely in the near future.
Although the treaty is still on WIPO's agenda and by no means dead,
the practical effect of today's decision is that it is no longer on
the fast track. That's good news indeed for the Internet Community,
including the over 1500 podcasters who signed an Open Letter to WIPO
expressing concern about the treaty, which EFF delivered to WIPO this
week. Member States refused to set a date for a diplomatic
conference. They rejected proposals from the WIPO Copyright Committee
Chair, Mr. Jukka Liedes, to postpone the diplomatic conference to
November/ December 2008, to convene a further "Special Session" of
the WIPO Copyright Committee focused on finalizing the treaty, and to
create a "modern framework" for "webcasting organizations". Instead,
it was agreed that the subject of protection of broadcasting and
cablecasting organizations would stay on the agenda and be discussed
in regular sessions of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and
Related Rights. After the jump we have the full text of the
conclusions of the meeting, together with notes from today's meeting.

Before a Diplomatic Conference can be convened, Member States must
reach agreement on the core elements of a treaty - the objectives,
specific scope and object of protection. While this week's informal
session discussions may have helped clarify Member States' positions,
it does not seem to have brought them closer. There is widespread
agreement amongst many Member States, public interest NGOs. libraries
and the tech industry that any treaty must focus on the issue of
signal theft and not the creation of exclusive rights that will harm
those communities. However, it's equally clear from this week that
broadcasters will not settle for anything other than exclusive rights.

In the meantime, apart from pulling the plug on a diplomatic
conference that seemed doomed for failure, as the delegate of India
and Jamie Love of Knowledge Ecology International have both noted,
today's decision also provides a much-needed opportunity for WIPO to
start focusing on other initiatives, such as facilitating access to
knowledge, evaluating the impact of legally-enforced technological
protection measures on exceptions and limitations, and Chile's 2004
proposal for mandatory exceptions and limitations to copyright law
for education, the disabled and libraries and archives. Now that
would be good news indeed.

OUTCOME

Please note that this is an unofficial version transcribed by the NGO
coalition (Petra Buhr (IP Justice), Sherwin Siy (Public Knowledge),
and Gwen Hinze (Electronic Frontier Foundation)), on the basis of
Member States' comments in the afternoon session of June 22, 2007 at
the SCCR S2 and as adopted 5:02 pm June 22, 2007.

WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
Second Special Session of the SCCR
Geneva, June 18 to 22, 2007

CONCLUSIONS
of the Second Special Session of the SCCR
on the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations
prepared by the Chair

Following the decision of the WIPO General Assembly in its
Thirty-third Session in September/October 2006, the Standing
Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) convened in the
First and Second Special Sessions, from January 17 to 19, and from
June 18 to 22, 2007.

The decision of the General Assembly stated that: "...the sessions of
the SCCR should aim to agree and finalize, on a signal-based
approach, the objectives, specific scope and object of protection
with a view to submitting to the Diplomatic Conference a revised
basic proposal, which will amend the agreed relevant parts of the
Revised Draft Basic Proposal.The Diplomatic Conference will be
convened if such agreement is achieved. If no such agreement is
achieved, all further discussions will be based on Document
SCCR/15/2..".

The discussions in the Second Special Session were based on the
Revised Draft Basic Proposal (SCCR/15/2 Rev) which is the official
comprehensive working document of the Committee and on a non-paper
dated April 20, 2007 prepared by the Chair.

During the session the delegations made their general statements and
discussed thoroughly the procedure of deliberations. The
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations were given the
opportunity to make statements.

In the informal discussions it became evident that during the session
it would not be possible to reach a agreement on the objectives,
specific scope and object of
protection with a view to submitting a revised basic proposal to the
diplomatic conference as mandated by the General Assembly.

While several delegations urged that the efforts to conclude a treaty
on protection of broadcasting organizations be continued, it was felt
that there was a need for taking time to reflect before proceeding
further to explore agreement as mandated by the General Assembly

The committee made the following recommendation:

The General Assembly
* takes note of the current status of the work in the SCCR on the
protection of broadcasting organizations and cablecasting
organizations.

* acknowledges that progress was made in the process towards better
understanding of the positions of the various stakeholders,
* recognizes the good faith efforts of all participants and
stakeholder organizations throughout the process,
* expresses the wish that all parties continue to strive to achieve
the objectives of protection as mandated by the General Assembly.

The General Assembly

* decides that the subject of protection of broadcasting and
cablecasting organizations be retained in the agenda of the SCCR in
its regular sessions, and considers the convening of a diplomatic
conference after there is agreement on the objectives, specific scope
and object of protection as mandated by the General Aseembly in its
2006 session.
--
[NB Asian Group version:
decides that the subject of protection of broadcasting and
cablecasting organizations be retained in the agenda of the SCCR in
its regular sessions and considers convening of Diplomatic Conference
only after agreemnet on objectives, specific scope and object of
protection as mandated by the General Assembly has been achieved]

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Thanks again to all the NGOs who worked together so well at WIPO this
week and made a hard week both fun and rewarding. Thanks also to all
those who could not make it to Geneva but supported us from behind
the scenes.

Best,
Gwen
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Gwen Hinze
International Affairs Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Email:gwen@eff.org
Tel.: + 1 415 436 9333 x110

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