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Rivers, Tom --- "A broadcasters' treaty?" [2007] ELECD 312; in Torremans, Paul (ed), "Copyright Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007)

Book Title: Copyright Law

Editor(s): Torremans, Paul

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845424879

Section: Chapter 20

Section Title: A broadcasters' treaty?

Author(s): Rivers, Tom

Number of pages: 32

Extract:

20 A broadcasters' treaty?*
Tom Rivers1



The primary purpose of this chapter is to describe the course of the negotia-
tions which have taken place under the aegis of the World Intellectual
Property Organisation (WIPO) on the subject of how best to protect broad-
casters at an international level. This process, still unfinished, has taken a long
time and has been at times contentious; lately, it has appeared that some
governments and a number of `civil society' non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) doubt whether intellectual property protection is the right way to deal
with the problems of broadcasters. Is this because protection for broadcasters
is specially problematic or because the attitude to intellectual property more
generally has shifted?
Describing what has happened may provide answers to this kind of ques-
tion and of necessity will highlight specific issues which have emerged: the
beneficiaries of protection, the extent of the substantive rights, the use of tech-
nological protection measures.
The Introduction is intended to give the reader some necessary background
and a summary account of the process. There follows a more detailed account
of how the work of the committee developed, the content of the governments'
proposals, and the debate between the different points of view.
The Conclusion offers an assessment of the future prospects for work at
WIPO on the broadcasters' treaty and other issues.

Introduction
In March 1998 the General Assembly of WIPO agreed a recommendation in
the budget for the coming biennium to set up a number of Standing
...