[A2k] Bridges: WIPO Copyright Discussions Focus on Exceptions and Limitations

[Manon Ress]

http://ictsd.net/i/news/bridgesweekly/33362/

ICTSD

WIPO Copyright Discussions Focus on Exceptions and Limitations

Exceptions and limitations to copyright protection took a central
place in the deliberations of  WIPO=92s Standing Committee on Copyright
and Related Rights (SCCR), which met last week.

Under the chairmanship of Jukka Liedes of Finland, the committee spent
a substantial part of its meeting examining exceptions and limitations
for educational activities, libraries and the visually impaired. A
proposal by the World Blind Union (WBU) for a treaty on exceptions and
limitations to copyright law for the visually impaired received much
attention.

Discussions on Exceptions and Limitations Continue

Exceptions and limitations to copyright allow individuals, under
certain conditions, to use a work without requiring authorization from
the copyright holder.

In 2003, Chile suggested discussing this issue at the SCCR and last
March Brazil, Chile, Nicaragua and Uruguay put forward a proposal for
a programme of work in this area including ultimately the possibility
of elaborating an international instrument on exceptions and
limitations which would include a mandatory set of exceptions and
limitations common to all WIPO member states,

In this context, four WIPO-commissioned studies on=91exceptions and
limitations=92   were presented during =93informative sessions=94 held
before the formal start of the Committee=92s session last Wednesday.

When the committee formally examined the issue, Chile suggested that a
questionnaire regarding the national laws of member states be drafted
and circulated to members so that they could compare national
experiences and use the document as a guideline for elaborating best
practices. The questionnaire would complement existing work and
information on limitations and exceptions in national systems, the
delegate said.

This suggestion was supported by several countries included Egypt, El
Salvador, South Africa and Uruguay as well as by several regional
groups. Brazil also endorsed the questionnaire and urged that it be
circulated at the next session of the SCCR.

The secretariat will now prepare a draft questionnaire, which will be
submitted to committee members before the next session of the SCCR.
The areas to be covered by the questionnaire include educational
activities, activities of libraries and archives, provisions for
disabled persons, as well as the implications of digital technology in
the field of copyright.

World Blind Union proposal up for discussion

The proposal by the WBU for a WIPO treaty on Improved Access for
Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled Persons was the
centre of much discussion at the meeting.  The WBU argued that
visually impaired persons in developed countries have very minimal
access to copyrighted material and that the availability of such
products is even more limited in developing countries. The proposed
treaty sought to provide a minimum standard for limitations and
exceptions for the visually impaired and to facilitate the import and
export of works in accessible formats.

The WBU proposal garnered much support from member states from Latin
American, African and Asian countries, as well as from all public
interest non-governmental organisations present.

At least two members of the Group B coalition of industrialised
nations, Australia and New Zealand, welcomed the WBU proposal. New
Zealand requested SCCR to study the issue of import and export and
international exchange of materials in accessible format that was
identified as problematic by an earlier WIPO report, although the New
Zealand request was later opposed by the European Communities and its
member states.

But the initial draft conclusions of the SCCR did not reflect this
support. Instead, the draft included specific language from an
alternative proposal, put forward by the International Federation of
Reproduction Rights and Organisations (IFRRO), that called for a
=91stakeholders=92 platform=92 that focuses more on technological and
contractual solutions to the problems faced by visually impaired
persons rather than on a normative approach that could lead to the
possible elaboration of an international instrument. The chair said
that such a platform could facilitate arrangements to secure access
for reading disabled persons to copyright-protected works. One
representative of the WBU expressed her disappointment with the draft
proposal, saying that the union would not give up its efforts to try
to garner support from delegates. =93The text should incorporate both
proposals, not one without the other,=94 she said.

France, speaking on behalf of the European Communities and its Member
States, objected to a wording that, =93The SCCR took note of the paper
presented by the WBU.=94 As a result, the final compromise made only
mention of the fact that =93a number of delegations referred to a paper
presented by the World Blind Union and expressed interest in further
analyzing it.=94

Despite this weaker wording, the WBU representatives chose to see the
development as a positive step. Christopher Friend, chair of the WBU
Copyright Committee told Bridges that =93the concerns of WBU received
tremendous visibility this week,=94 and that he is =93satisfied that the
WBU is in a position to take the matter forward positively with the
help of the SCCR and WIPO.=94

The WBU represents over 160 million visually impaired persons in 177
member countries. The organisation has made substantive interventions
on rights for the blind since 2003.

Next on the Agenda

Although the protection of audiovisual performances was next on the
agenda, the issue did not receive much attention. Discussions rather
moved to the protection of broadcasting organisations. The issue of
broadcasters=92 rights has been a major focus on the SCCR agenda for
nearly 10 years but lost momentum after the 2007 failure to agree on
the text of a draft treaty.

The EU stated that it was =93pleased with the agenda item and believes
it should be a priority for the next meeting of the SCCR committee.=94
Most delegates agreed that broadcasters=92 rights should remain on the
agenda. The Philippines proposed an informal meeting on broadcasting
before the next SCCR meeting, whilst Mexico expressed its eagerness
for progress toward an international instrument to combat the piracy
of broadcasting signals. Algeria, speaking on behalf of the African
group, requested the secretariat to conduct studies on the status of
signals.

The US tried to bring the issue of webcasting back into discussions,
insisting that the time had =93expired=94 for the committee to organise a
diplomatic conference addressing only traditional broadcasting.
Webcasting had been previously set aside on the committee=92s agenda to
allow members time to try to move to a diplomatic conference on a
treaty to protect against piracy of signals of broadcasters and
cablecasters. The committee did not make a decision on this matter.

India was quick to re-assert its opposition to the inclusion of the
issue of webcasting. The Indian delegate encouraged member states to
complete current negotiations on signal broadcasts, whilst stating
that =93the time was not right to stray into the area of the internet,
as certain issues need to be better understood=85and preferred to defer
discussions on webcasting to a later stage.=94

The next meeting of the SCCR is scheduled for 25-29 May 2009.

ICTSD reporting.

***************************************************************************
Manon Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.:  +1.202.332.2670, Fax: +1.202.332.2673