[WSIS CS-Plenary] IPJ: 2005 WIPO General Assembly Continues Support for Development Agenda

[Robin Gross]

IP Justice Media Release ~ 5 October 2005

2005 WIPO General Assembly Continues Support for Development Agenda
Broadcasting/Webcasting Treaty Negotiations to Conclude by 2007

(Geneva)  In its annual meeting from 26 Sept. - 5 Oct. 2005 in Geneva, 
the General Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization 
WIPO) remained firm in its commitment to incorporating a "Development 
Agenda" for reform at WIPO, a UN Specialized Agency.  Despite enormous 
pressure from the United States and Europe to relegate all efforts for 
reform at WIPO to the powerless Permanent Committee on Cooperation for 
Development Related to Intellectual Property (PCIPD), the General 
Assembly decided to continue Inter-sessional Intergovernmental Meetings 
(IIM) for another year in a provisional committee.

Originally supported by a 14-country coalition, the "Group of Friends of 
Development", the Development Agenda was adopted at the 2004 WIPO 
General Assembly in an effort to reform WIPO's practice of expanding 
intellectual property rights without evaluating the costs to society 
associated with the expanded rights.  Three IIMs were held in April, 
June, and July 2005 to discuss Member State proposals for reform, but 
virtually no substantive discussion took place. At the final IIM in 
July, the US and Japan prevented the "consensus" necessary to make a 
single substantive recommendation for reform at WIPO to the 2005 General 
Assembly.

The 2005 General Assembly agreed to convene a provisional committee to 
take the IIM process forward by holding two additional week-long 
meetings in Geneva in the next year to examine the Member State 
proposals, including the original proposal submitted by Brazil and 
Argentina in Fall 2004.  The provisional committee is charged with 
reporting any recommendations for reform at WIPO to the General Assembly 
in September 2006.  Additional Member State proposals submitted before 
the beginning of the first session will be also considered by the committee.

In July 2005, IP Justice, together with over 130 public-interest NGOs 
from all corners of the globe, signed a statement in support of the 
Friends of Development proposal for a Development Agenda at WIPO that 
was delivered to WIPO negotiators at the 3rd IIM session in Geneva.

"The commitment of the WIPO Member States to reform WIPO and incorporate 
a Development Agenda into its work by continuing the IIM process is very 
  encouraging," said Robin Gross, Executive Director of IP Justice, an 
international civil liberties organization that promotes balanced 
intellectual property laws.

"For decades, little public attention has been paid to the activities of 
WIPO, an international organization that determines the legal rights of 
billions of people to access and use information.  Increased public 
scrutiny and enhanced participation from developing countries can bring 
the organization more in line with the public interest, rather than the 
current trend of benefiting narrow private interests," added Ms. Gross.

IP-exporting nations, such the US and those in Western Europe have 
opposed developing countries' recent efforts to find a new balance for 
intellectual property rights, and stalled substantive discussions on a 
Development Agenda at WIPO for a year.  Those pushing hardest to expand 
IP rights at WIPO today are the same states that for centuries were 
regarded as "pirate nations" for flaunting foreign authors' rights. 
Ironically, these same "developed" nations now refuse to allow today's 
developing countries the same path of economic development through less 
restrictive intellectual property rights.  For nearly 200 years, less 
restrictive IP rights provided the US with a competitive advantage, 
internationally, and was publicly advocated for as a means of protecting 
the US' national interests.

More detailed analysis of the WIPO Development Agenda from IP Justice is 
available here: http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/WIPO_DA.shtml.


** Negotiations for Broadcasting/Webcasting Treaty to Conclude by 2007

Also at the 2005 WIPO General Assembly meeting, a compromise agreement 
was reached regarding negotiations for a controversial treaty that would 
grant a slew of new and unprecedented rights to broadcasting companies 
over the "signals" they transmit.  The proposed Broadcasting Treaty also 
threatens to include regulating Internet transmissions of audio-visual 
information (webcasting) on the sole insistence of the US Government.

The 2005 General Assembly resisted pressure from the US and WIPO itself 
to immediately convene a Diplomatic Conference to begin treaty drafting; 
but it decided to hold at least two more meetings of the Standing 
Committee and Copyrights and Related Rights (SCCR) to finalize 
negotiations for a Broadcasting Treaty, with the view that a Diplomatic 
Conference be convened by 2007.   The SCCR will next meet 20-21 November 
2005 to continue negotiations.

Artists oppose the proposed Broadcasting Treaty because it would give 
greater rights to Broadcasting companies than artists are given that 
could prevent artists from using recorded broadcasts of their own 
performances.  A large number of public-interest NGO's oppose the treaty 
because it would allow broadcasting companies to control public domain 
programming, disable the public's fair use rights and outlaw the 
circumvention of digital locks on programing - even if its in the public 
domain.   The proposed treaty would give broadcasting companies new 
rights to control information that they have neither created, nor own -- 
simply for "transmitting" the information.

"The proposed WIPO Broadcasting Treaty is nothing more than a giant 
give-away to 'special interests' at great public expense," said Robin 
Gross of IP Justice.  "No attempt has been made to justify the need for 
creating new and additional rights (that sit on top of copyrights) for 
broadcasting companies or webcasters.   And the unprecedented US 
proposal to include Internet transmissions within the scope of this 
treaty's regulation would be disastrous for the health and growth of the 
Internet," added Gross, a cyber-liberties attorney, "since it would 
regulate millions of existing webpages that legally transmit 
audio-visual entertainment."

Led by the Consumer Project on Technology, a group of public-interest 
NGOs' (including IP Justice) signed a letter to the US Congress calling 
for public comment on the Webcasting provisions in the Broadcasting 
Treaty and requesting that the US block support for convening a 
Diplomatic Conference on the treaty.  The letter is open for additional 
signatures until 11 October 2005 and US citizens are strongly encouraged 
to sign-on to the letter to protect their liberty. Sign-on here: 
http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/GA_093005.shtml

In theory, international treaties are intended to "harmonize" slight 
differences between national laws; but many of the new rights created in 
the broadcasting proposal currently exist no where in any nation's law, 
such as the unpopular webcasting provisions and the proposal's 
anti-circumvention measures.   The offenses frequently cited to justify 
the Broadcasting Treaty are already illegal under existing national and 
international laws, including copyright, and thus unnecessary.   The 
additional harm created by granting new rights for broadcasters cannot 
be justified.

More detailed analysis of the WIPO Broadcasting Treaty from IP Justice 
is available here: http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/broadcasters.shtml.


More Info:

IP Justice Webpage on WIPO Broadcasting Treaty:
http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/broadcasters.shtml

IP Justice Webpage on WIPO Development Agenda Treaty:
http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/WIPO_DA.shtml

IPJ: 138 NGOs Sign Statement to Support FoD Proposal:
http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/NGO_Statement.shtml

IP Justice Webpage on IIM/3 of Development Agenda, 20-22 July 2005:
http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/NGO_Statement.shtml

IP Justice Webpage on IIM/2 of Development Agenda, 20-22 June 2005:
http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/WIPO_IIM2.shtml

IP Justice Webpage on IIM/1 of Development Agenda, 11-13 April 2005:
http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/WIPO_IIM1.shtml

IP Justice Webpage on WIPO 2004 General Assembly Meeting:
http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/WIPO_IIM_prep.shtml

IP Justice Webpage on WIPO 2005 General Assembly Meeting:
http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/GA_093005.shtml


Contact: Robin D. Gross, IP Justice Executive Director
     Telephone: +1.415.553.6261
     Email: robin at ipjustice.org
This media release is available at:
     http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/GenAss_100405.shtml