Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 11 • Number 23 • 27th June 2007

WIPO Broadcast Treaty Talks Collapse

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Ten years of discussions on an international treaty to update broadcasters’ rights in the internet age came to a standstill last week, after members of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) failed to agree on what the agreement should protect.

A ‘diplomatic conference’ to finalise a treaty, scheduled for this November, has been called off with no indication that it will be revived any time soon.

WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), meeting 18-22 June, was mandated by the organisation’s 2006 General Assembly to agree "the objectives, specific scope and object of protection" of a "signal-based approach" to a broadcast treaty, in preparation for the diplomatic conference (BRIDGES Weekly, 4 October 2006).

In a statement, the US said members were "far apart on fundamental issues related to the new treaty, including the nature and extent of protection needed to address signal piracy and whether such protection should extend to the Internet." They also noted that since discussions began, "technology and business models have continually evolved, making precise definitions and some complex concepts difficult to pinpoint."

The EU and Japan, backed by Senegal, Mexico, Colombia, and El Salvador, have pushed for a more expansive approach to give broadcasters copyright-like "related rights" over the content they transmit. The US, Brazil, Chile, India, and South Africa, among others, sought a less ambitious agreement on protecting broadcast signals to tackle piracy issues. An Indian delegate described the differences as "deep fault lines," dating back to earlier talks in the committee (BRIDGES Weekly, 24 January 2007). After intensive informal consultations, the US told members on 21 June that it was "difficult to think of a single issue upon which agreement has been reached."

SCCR Chair Jukka Liedes (Finland) tried to salvage the talks by producing a draft outcome document of recommendations to the General Assembly in September, calling for a special session of the committee followed by a diplomatic conference in 2008. Many delegations objected, and ultimately agreed that discussions on a broadcast treaty should only be a regular item on the SCCR’s agenda, receiving no special consideration. The text they adopted at the end of last week specified that a diplomatic conference should only be considered after member states have agreed on the objective of a treaty, as well as the scope and nature of protection that it would offer.

One of the distinguishing features of the broadcast treaty talks has been the number of lobbyists descending on WIPO from sectors as diverse as professional sports leagues, the music industry, and public interest groups. Large broadcasters advocated for the rights-based approach favoured by the EU and Japan. In contrast, other telecoms and technology companies, such as Intel and Verizon, were concerned by the potential threats such a treaty would pose to the internet and, for instance, the effect of technological protection measures on future innovation. Sports leagues feared giving broadcasters greater rights over footage. The US sided with the second camp, joining developing countries like Brazil and India in supporting the "signal-based approach" to the treaty. However, a source said that the US joined other Group B (industrialised) countries in playing down the importance of provisions on competition, cultural diversity, and access to knowledge that the developing nations had been seeking.

Public interest civil society groups welcomed the apparent demise of the broadcast treaty. Earlier in the week, nine groups, including Third World Network, Knowledge Ecology International, and library associations, released a statement claiming the negotiations had been an unnecessary and hazardous undertaking. "Piracy of broadcast signals is already adequately dealt with under existing laws and treaties," they said, adding that granting broadcasters the exclusive rights they were demanding would "harm both the creative communities and the public," particularly regarding access to knowledge on the internet.

It is unclear when efforts would next be made to continue talks, given that the agenda for the SCCR will be set at the WIPO General Assembly in September. Chile has proposed that future attention be directed to exceptions and limitations to copyright for education, libraries, and disabled people, whilst India suggested that addressing access to knowledge and education would be a better use of the committee’s time than resuscitating the broadcast treaty.

ICTSD reporting; "WIPO Broadcasting treaty talks sent back to committee," INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WATCH, 22 June 2007.