SCCR/17 - WIPO

WIPO |[pic] |E
SCCR/17/5
ORIGINAL: English
DATE: March 25, 2009 | |
|WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION |
|GENEVA |
STANDING COMMITTEE ON COPYRIGHT
AND RELATED RIGHTS SEVENTEENTH SESSION
Geneva, November 3 to 7, 2008 Report APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE
The Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (hereinafter
referred to as the "Standing Committee," the "Committee" or the "SCCR")
held its seventeenth session in Geneva from November 3 to 7, 2008. The following Member States of the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) and/or members of the Berne Union for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works were represented in the meeting: Afghanistan,
Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Benin,
Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Germany, Finland,
France, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Holy See, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran
(Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon,
Lithuania, Luxemburg, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic
of Korea , Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Singapore, South Africa,
Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, The
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia,
Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay,
Zambia, Zimbabwe (78). The European Community (EC) participated in the meeting in a member
capacity. The following intergovernmental organizations took part in the meeting
in an observer capacity: African Union (AU), Arab Broadcasting Union
(ASBU), Third World Network Berhad (TWN), and World Trade Organization
(WTO) (4). The following non-governmental organizations took part in the meeting
as observers: Actors, Interpreting Artists Committee (CSAI), Asia-Pacific
Broadcasting Union (ABU), Association of Commercial Television in Europe
(ACT), Association of European Performers' Organisations (AEPO-ARTIS),
Association IQSensato (IQSensato), Central and Eastern European Copyright
Alliance (CEECA), Centre for Performers' Rights Administrations (CPRA) of
GEIDANKYO, Consumers International (CI), Co-ordinating Council of
Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA), Copyright Research and
Information Center (CRIC), Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Electronic
Information for Libraries (eIFL.net), European Broadcasting Union (EBU),
European Cable Communications Association (ECCA), European Digital Rights
(EDRi), European Federation of Joint Management Societies of Producers for
Private Audiovisual Copying (EUROCOPYA), European Visual Artists (EVA) ,
German Association for the Protection of Industrial Property and Copyright
Law (GRUR), Ibero-Latin-American Federation of Performers (FILAIE),
Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA), International Association
for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property
(ATRIP), International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development
(ICTSD), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International
Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), International
Federation of Actors (FIA), International Federation of Associations of
Film Distributors (FIAD), International Federation of Film Producers
Associations (FIAPF), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ),
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA),
International Federation of Musicians (FIM), International Federation of
Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO), International Federation of the
Phonographic Industry (IFPI), International Group of Scientific, Technical
and Medical Publishers (STM), International Intellectual Property Alliance
(IIPA), International Literary and Artistic Association (ALAI),
International Music Managers Forum (IMMF), International Publishers
Association (IPA), International Video Federation (IVF), Knowledge Ecology
International, Inc. (KEI), Library Copyright Alliance (LCA), Max-Planck-
Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law (MPI),
National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan (NAB-Japan), North
American Broadcasters Association (NABA), Public Knowledge, Union of
National Broadcasting in Africa (URTNA), World Blind Union (WBU) (46). OPENING OF THE SESSION
The Director General welcomed the delegates and observers to the
seventeenth session of the Standing Committee. The Chair of the Committee, Mr. Jukka Liedes of Finland, noted that
elections for the positions of Chair and Vice Chairs for 2008 had taken
place in the March session of the Committee. Adoption of the Agenda of the seventeenth session
The Committee adopted the Agenda of the Session as contained in
document SCCR/17/1. Adoption of the Report of the sixteenth session of the Standing Committee
on Copyright and Related Rights
The Chair noted that the draft Report for the Session, which had been
held on March 10 to 12, 2008, had been published on September 5, 2008. The Secretary of the Standing Committee noted that the English version
of the draft Report had been published on September 5, 2008, but the French
and Spanish versions had been published in the week of November 3, 2008.
Members were requested to submit, within one week, by email to
copyright.mail@wipo.int, any corrections of their own statements, and a
revised version of the draft Report would be issued by the Secretariat. The Chair noted that with this reservation the Standing Committee had
adopted the Report and opened the floor for general observations. The Delegation of France, on behalf of the European Community and its
27 Member States, thanked the Secretariat for organizing the informative
sessions on existing and future studies on exceptions and limitations and
the protection of audiovisual performances, which would enrich the
Committee's future work. It was appropriate to continue with discussions
on pending issues, namely the protection of audiovisual performances and
the protection of broadcasting organizations. With respect to audiovisual
performances, appreciation was expressed for the organization of seminars
at national and regional levels, and for the factual document summarizing
the outcomes of the organized activities and list of positions taken by
Members. The issue remained important, and it was important to find a way
to move forward. It was recalled that the issue of the protection of
broadcasting organizations had been the subject of in-depth discussions,
and the time had come to take action that would lead towards a consensus
enabling the grant of satisfactory protection to broadcasting organizations
at the international level. The analysis of the main positions and
divergences among Members by the Chair under the mandate of the General
Assembly would enable progress in discussions towards a consensus. The
European Community and its Member States had drafted a document setting out
its justifications on subjects it had put forward for the Committee's work
at the Session in March 2008, in response to Members' questions. The
subjects were the artist's resale right, orphan works, collective
management and applicable law, and the majority had been discussed at the
8th Session of the Committee, and referred to in a presentation by the
Secretariat of Document SCCR/8/2 entitled 'A short description of possible
subjects for future review by the Standing Committee in a positive and
constructive spirit. The Delegation of Bangladesh, on behalf of the least developed
countries, thanked the Secretariat for organizing a briefing on Committee
matters for least developed countries, which had helped to identify common
positions and concerns. In a general sense, least developed countries were
prepared to continue to participate in the Committee in the areas of
exceptions and limitations, audiovisual performances and protection of
broadcasting and cablecasting organizations. Appreciation was given for
the Informative Sessions on exceptions and limitations and audiovisual
performances. In the context of the planned study on exceptions and
limitations in the field of education, there was a need to take account of
the difficult situation of least developed countries in this context. No
formal position was taken on the World Blind Union's (WBU) proposal for a
WIPO Treaty on Improved Access for Blind, Visually Impaired and Other
Reading Disabled Persons (the WBU Proposal), which had just been received.
However, it was an important issue that should be given due attention by
the Committee, particularly as 90% of visually impaired persons lived in
poorer and least developed countries, and limitations and exceptions to
assist those persons was a pressing issue. With respect to the protection
of audiovisual performers, it was hoped that the Committee's deliberations
would take account of the welfare of performers from least developed
countries. With respect to the protection of broadcasting organizations,
it was noted that the Committee could not make substantive progress on the
area, although the least developed countries were prepared to remain
engaged on the issue. It was noted that the Chair had put forward several
options for progress on the issue, and it was requested that these options
be further discussed and clarified with respect to their scope and any
envisaged timeline. A concern was also expressed about the