Canada recently sent a submission to the World Intellectual Property Organization on the proposed Broadcasting Treaty. The submission comments on the proposals contained in the WIPO document SCCR/15/2 rev, which will ultimately form the basis of the new treaty.
The submission can be viewed in English here and in French here.
The submission was solicited by the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). At a November 2010 meeting, Committee members adopted a proposed process for advancing the consideration of the Protection of Audiovisual Performances draft Treaty (WAPT) and proposed Broadcasting Treaty (WBT) and invited states to submit written proposals on both.
Background – WBT
The updating of the international system for the protection of broadcasting organizations has been on the agenda of the SCCR since 1996. Two special sessions of the SCCR were convened in 2007 to clarify the outstanding issues but did not result in sufficient agreement on a revised basic proposal to warrant calling a diplomatic conference. Since that time, the SCCR has commissioned studies and held seminars in an attempt to clarify the objectives, specific scope and object of protection.
General information on this topic may be found at: http://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/activities/broadcast.html.
The Canadian submission made in 2007 may be found at: http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=79452.
Background – WAPT
Following the agreement of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) in 1996, WIPO began discussions of possible treaties on the protection of audiovisual performances and the protection of broadcasting organizations.
The work on the protection of audiovisual performances led to a Diplomatic Conference in December 2000, that reached provisional agreement on 19 articles of a draft treaty, but was unable to reach agreement on an article concerning the transfer of rights of performers to producers.
The Secretariat memorandum on the Diplomatic Conference is accessible online at: http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/govbody/en/a_36/a_36_9_rev.doc. General information on this topic may be found at: http://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/activities/audio_visual.html.
In August 2010, the WIPO Secretariat invited Member States to make submissions on the issues with the objective of holding a consultation meeting last October. However, this process was suspended in September 2010 by WIPO and the planned October meeting was postponed. At the most recent SCCR meeting, the WIPO Members adopted specific deadlines to proceed on its work on this draft treaty, as outlined above.
Canada did not make submissions on the WAPT.