[Ecommerce] FYI: Techdaily on Casters treaty

[Manon Anne Ress]

Techdaily May 26 Pm Edition

Group Offers Alternative To Anti-Piracy Broadcasting Treaty
by Drew Clark

     A group of non-profit organizations objecting to the current
version of a treaty designed to protect broadcasters from piracy have
allied themselves with an artists' group and on Wednesday proposed a
stripped-down alternative.
     Spearheaded by the Consumer Project on Technology and joined by the
International Music Managers Forum (IMMF), the alternative proposal also
would protect broadcasters against signal piracy. But it would also
narrow the scope of the intellectual property rights broadcasters could
assert.
     Government officials leading the U.S. delegation to the June 7-9
World Intellectual Property Organization meeting in Geneva that will
consider the more expansive broadcaster treaty praised the non-profits
for its alternative version, which was presented Wednesday to officials
of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Copyright Office.
     "It was very helpful because it does give different options to
address these issues," said Jule Sigall, associate register for
international affairs at the Copyright Office.
     Jenny Ness, attorney adviser in the PTO's office of international
relations, said she could not yet comment on the proposal.
     The United States never ratified the 1961 "Rome treaty" that first
granted intellectual property-style rights to broadcasters. But the
nation supports the move to create a new treaty to expand such
protection from 20 to 50 years.
     "The draft is a way to answer the criticism that the [non-profits]
in the back of the room are not constructive and never come up with
solutions," said Manon Ress of CPT. "We decided to get down and try
drafting something that meets the needs of rights-holders, us, and
broadcasters."
     By striking an alliance with performers and potentially also with
copyright holders - as against broadcasters - the non-profits hope to
redirect momentum away from the more expansive broadcaster treaty.
     "We are trying to shatter the paradigm that everyone gets their 50
years," said Jamie Love, director of CPT. "It will be impossible to say
that there is only one approach" to such protection, he said.
     The key changes made in the proposal, which also has been joined by
Public Knowledge and European non-profits including European Digital
Rights, are the elimination of sections dealing with fixation,
reproduction, and related activities.
     The proposal would also eliminate protection for webcasters,
something the U.S. appears alone in supporting.
     The non-profit groups have argued that copyright is designed to
protect creative works, not those who transmit them, and say that the
piracy of television signals would be an offense not against
broadcasters but against those who hold the copyrights to the programs.
     Their proposal could force music and movie copyright owners to
chose sides between broadcasters seeking additional protection -
potentially at their expense - and with non-profit groups who frequently
criticize copyright interests.
     Those in "the rights-holder community are talking amongst
themselves about whether now is the time to put their name on language
or whether it is better to wait" to see whether the treaty gathers
steam, said Nick Ashton-Hart of IMMF.
     "The principles [in the CPT proposal] are principles agreed to by
all the rights holders," said Ashton-Hart.