[A2k] AP: Talks on global broadcast treaty fail

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070622/ap_on_hi_te/
un_broadcasting_rights&printer=3D1;_ylt=3DAngyX0xEBMJMLklqjaoJ6Qpk24cA

  Talks on global broadcast treaty fail

By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press WriterFri Jun 22, 8:27 AM ET

Talks on an international treaty updating broadcast rights to
accommodate the Internet failed Friday because countries were unable to
agree how much legal and technological protection to afford
broadcasters, a U.S. official said.

"It became clear that there was no agreement on any of the fundamental
issues of the treaty," Paul Salmon, head of the U.S. delegation, told
The Associated Press.

The treaty fell victim to disagreements over issues such as whether
protection against piracy should cover only traditional broadcasting
methods =97 meaning cable, antenna and satellite signals =97 or whether it
should include retransmission over the Internet, he said.

European countries wanted to give broadcasters rights over any content
they transmit =97 even if they did not originally produce the content.

That type of rights-based treaty is opposed by electronics and
telecommunication companies like Intel Corp. and Verizon Communications
Inc., as well as librarian groups and consumer advocates. They say it
would stifle technological innovation and could prevent people from
playing legal music or films over their home networks.

The groups have lobbied for a narrow treaty protecting only the signal
itself from piracy.

The talks, which were held under the auspices of the United Nation's
World Intellectual Property Organization, were meant to pave the way
for an intergovernmental meeting in November to approve a treaty.

It would have been the first major regulation of broadcast rights on an
international level since the 1961 Rome Convention, which many
countries, including the United States, are not a party to.

Salmon said delegations would discuss how to proceed on Friday.

"There was no question that countries were negotiating in good faith,"
he said. "It's just that despite our efforts we are nowhere near
agreement."

---------------------------------
Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
voice +41.22.791.6727
fax +41.22.723.2988
mobile +41 76 508 0997
thiru@keionline.org