The broadcasting treaty resuscitated by the Council of Europe

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Pending the approval of its Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe
will try to promote a new broadcasting international document, building on
the failed convention for the protection of broadcasting signals of the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

As WIPO’s 184 members have failed in agreeing upon a text for the treaty and
as the conference for a full negotiation planned for November 2007 was
postponed at the request of several member states and the European
Broadcasting Union, the Council of Europe intends to proceed on reinforcing
the initial WIPO recommendations on the matter. “I suspect that Council of
Europe member states would be very happy if the WIPO deadlock were overcome
and revert to WIPO negotiations,” Jan Malinowski, head of the Council’s
Media and Information Society Division, told Intellectual Property Watch.
“However, at present many feel that progress at the Council of Europe level
is desirable.”

According to Malinowski, the Council would deal with the issue “by
establishing a stronger legal basis in international law [to] provide
guidance to states as to how to regulate the matter.” He stated that during
the last 20 years the Council has already “elaborated other instruments
designed to enhance the protection of broadcasters neighbouring rights” such
as the “Convention on the legal protection of services based on, or
consisting of, conditional access adopted in 2001” and the “2002
Recommendation on measures to enhance the protection of the neighbouring
rights of broadcasting organisations.”

IP issues have been also tackled by the Council’s Convention on Cybercrime,
by dealing in a more general sense with the infringement of copyright and
related rights online or through computer systems. Also, regarding the
concerns expressed by civil rights organisations and developing countries
related to the fair access rules, Malinowski said: “A human rights-centred
approach is also necessary when examining access to education, to knowledge,
research, and I would add, also as regards cultural and artistic expression
and scientific development.” He also added that “Article 10 of the European
Convention on Human Rights consecrates the right to freedom of expression
and information without interference by public authority and regardless of
frontiers”.

A group of specialists of the Council of Europe has the task to prepare a
report on the trends and issues related to the protection of intellectual
property rights as well as “the fundamental right to freedom of expression
and free flow of information, access to knowledge and education, the
promoting of research and scientific development and the protection and
promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions and artistic creation”
and to make concrete proposals for actions to be taken in this area.

Broadcasting Treaty: Council of Europe Picks Up Where WIPO Left Off
(10.12.2007)
http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=864

EDRI-gram: The broadcast treaty stalled by WIPO General Assembly
(11.10.2006)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.19/broadcast