[WSIS CS-Plenary] IPJ: WIPO Decision on Broadcast Treaty: 2007 DipCon IF Agreement Achieved

[Robin Gross]

2 October 2006 ~ IP Justice Media Release

Contact: Robin Gross, IP Justice Executive Director
robin at ipjustice.org +1-415-553-6261

WIPO General Assembly Decision on Broadcast Treaty:
“Diplomatic Conference will be convened IF agreement is achieved”

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assembly 
rejected the decision by the Chairman of the Standing Committee on 
Copyrights and Related Rights (SCCR) to convene a Diplomatic Conference 
next summer to finalize a treaty that would create new rights for 
broadcast companies.

The 42nd WIPO General Assembly instead called for 2 additional meetings 
in 2007 to work out the many contentious provisions remaining in the 
proposed Broadcast Treaty. WIPO is the United Nations Specialized Agency 
charged with making intellectual property law treaties.

After several days of both formal and informal discussions, on 2 October 
2006, the General Assembly decided that “the Diplomatic Conference will 
be convened if such agreement is achieved.”

At an early September SCCR meeting, the Chairman asked for “silent 
approval” of his decision to convene the Diplomatic Conference – even 
after a number of Member States including India, Brazil and the U.S 
objected to the premature decision. The lack of consensus among Member 
States on the decision to move forward with the Broadcast Treaty was one 
of the most contentious issues at this year’s General Assembly and 
clouded WIPO’s legitimacy as a democratic institution.

“While proponents of the Broadcast Treaty hail this as a victory, since 
a Diplomatic Conference may still be convened next year, the General 
Assembly’s refusal to rubber-stamp the decision of the SCCR Chairman is 
the real victory at WIPO,” said IP Justice Executive Director Robin 
Gross. The inclusion of the two-letter word “if” in the decision to 
convene a Diplomatic Conference makes an enormous difference in the 
outcome. “A Diplomatic Conference is now contingent upon Member States 
reaching consensus where there are currently great differences,” Gross 
added, “such as the inclusion of anti-circumvention measures in the 
treaty and outlawing Internet retransmissions of programs.”

Another important achievement is the General Assembly’s decision to 
narrow the scope of the treaty to a “signal” based approach, something 
that a majority of Member States and NGOs had called for in the SCCR 
meetings. The SCCR Chairman’s Draft Proposal instead would create 8 new 
intellectual property rights for broadcast companies. Although some 
proponents of the Chairman’s draft argue that his draft also takes a 
“signal based approach”, Member States will now have to define key 
terms, including the term “signal” in the next draft.

Negotiations will continue on the Broadcast Treaty at a January 2007 
meeting at WIPO. There will also be another opportunity to negotiate 
differences in June 2007 at a meeting to be held in conjunction with a 
preparatory meeting for a Diplomatic Conference. If Member States reach 
sufficient agreement by the June 2007 Broadcast Treaty meeting, the 
Diplomatic Conference will be held from 19 November – 7 December 2007 in 
Geneva to finalize treaty drafting.

More Information:
IP Justice Broadcasting Treaty Page:
http://ipjustice.org/wp/campaigns/wipo/wipo-broadcasting-treaty

Decision of 42nd WIPO General Assembly on Broadcast Treaty:
http://ipjustice.org/wp/2006/10/02/wipo-general-assembly-decision-on-broadcast-treaty

IP Justice Statement at 42nd General Assembly:
http://ipjustice.org/wp/2006/09/27/ip-justice-statement-at-wipo-42nd-general-assembly

IP Justice Report from 15th SCCR Meeting:
http://ipjustice.org/wp/2006/09/13/328/