WIPO Broadcast Treaty Sees ‘Some Progress’ but No Consensus

Agreement on updated broadcast copyright protections eluded the World Intellectual Property Organization's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) during its April 14-19 meeting in Geneva. "Some progress was made in negotiating solutions for a number of topics on which there are still different positions," WIPO Copyright Law Director Michele Woods said in an email. That should be reflected in the chair's next draft treaty, posted before the SCCR meets again, sometime in 2025, she added.

In her draft summary, Adriana Moscoso del Prado of Spain, the SCCR's first woman chair, noted "with respect to objectives, there is common understanding amongst the Committee that the treaty should be narrowly focused on signal piracy, should not extend to any post-fixation activities and that it should provide member states with flexibility to implement obligations through adequate and effective legal means. There is also common understanding that the object of protection (subject-matter) of the treaty is related to programme-carrying signals linked to linear transmission."

Del Prado noted "progress on several topics" that would allow the SCCR to "further narrow the gaps between the different positions, but there was no agreement on proposed changes to several articles." She cited "positive proposals" on the definition of broadcast organizations, beneficiaries of protection, ensuring that technical protection measures shouldn't prevent beneficiaries from enjoying the limitations and exceptions provided by the accord, and on providing more flexibility on how parties implement its provisions.

The potential to exclude mere webcasters (those who only broadcast on the internet) from the scope of the treaty may also be needed to reach broader agreement, Del Prado wrote. Countries using that reservation would apply the treaty's rules protection to broadcasters in the traditional sense, whatever their means of transmission, but not to mere webcasters. While some governments believe the text is ready to be addressed at a diplomatic conference next year, others disagree; the talks will continue in 2025, she said.

The issue of whether the treaty should cover mere webcasters seemed resolved, but "the topic continues to get raised again for clarification as technology evolves in the broadcasting field," Woods said.

Asked whether the meeting made progress, Knowledge Ecology International Director James Love emailed that it "depends on what you consider progress." The issue comes down largely to post-fixation rights, "and the EU won't give up on stored programs with undefined terms of protection." Moreover, he said, it's not clear what everyone means by signal protection.

Love said he believes the broadcast treaty, which has been under negotiation for more than 20 years, "has one more year if not one more meeting to see if there is agreement" on whether to hold a diplomatic conference. Either way, he said, it likely won't be on the SCCR agenda after that. Broadcasters didn't immediately comment.