Opposition to draft WIPO Broadcast Treaty

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Several representatives of the IT, telecommunications, consumer electronics
industry, public interest organizations and performers joined in a common
statement issued on 5 September to oppose the WIPO Treaty on the Protection
of Broadcasts and Broadcasting Organizations.

The treaty creates a new class of IP rights meant to protect broadcasters
from the theft of their TV signals which is considered by the signatories of
the statement as “misguided and unnecessary”. On their opinion, the issue
could have been solved by a “signal protection-oriented approach, ideally
focusing narrowly and specifically on protecting signals from intentional
misappropriation or theft.”

The opponents to the treaty claim that its text may give broadcasters
wide-ranging rights over Internet content and believe the treaty should
include certain limitations and exceptions to make sure the treaty does not
inhibit the use of the content that is legal under the copyright law.

Concern is shown regarding the unprecedented control that broadcasters might
gain over signals in home or personal network environments and the
signatories propose the treaty includes “a provision excluding coverage of
fixations, transmissions or retransmissions across a home or personal
network”.

Another issue raised is that of the intermediary liability, the present
draft of the treaty creating the risk for the network intermediaries to face
liability for the infringement of the broadcasting rights.

The draft also excludes computer networks from the protection for simulcasts
although this is provided for the traditional broadcasters and cablecasters.

The latest version of the draft treaty is being discussed in Geneva on 11-13
September 2006 at the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and related
rights.

Statement concerning the WIPO Broadcast treaty provided by certain
information technology, consumer electronics telecommunications industry
representatives, public interest organizations, and performers’
representatives (5.09.2006)
http://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/wipo-statement-20060905.pdf

Tech companies oppose WIPO treaty on TV rights (8.09.2006)
http://www.theregister.com/2006/09/08/wipo_treaty_opposition/

Revised Draft Basic Proposal for the WIPO Treaty on the Protection of
Broadcasting Organizations (31.05.2006)
http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/sccr/en/sccr_15/sccr_15_2.pdf

EDRI-gram :Webcasting put on a separate track from the new draft WIPO Treaty
(10.05.2006)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.9/sccr