Broadcasters Treaty - WIPO SCCR Special Session

Statement by the United States Delegation
Geneva,
June 22, 2007

The United States, along with other members of the World Intellectual Property (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), acknowledged that a consensus had not emerged on the provisions of a new international treaty on the protection of broadcasting organizations needed to convene a diplomatic conference tentatively scheduled for later this year.

The delegates agreed, however, to retain the protection of broadcasting organizations for consideration at the next regular meeting of the SCCR.

In September 2006, the WIPO General Assembly authorized two special sessions of the SCCR to clarify the many outstanding issues on the proposed provisions of such a new treaty. The General Assembly specifically noted that the SCCR should aim "to agree on and finalize a signal-based approach,” including its objectives, scope, and object of protection, with a view toward convening a diplomatic conference.

After intensive discussions in June and January, however, SCCR members concluded that they remained far apart on fundamental issues related to the new treaty, including the nature and extent of protection needed to address signal piracy and whether such protection should extend to the Internet.

The United States noted that it was “difficult to think of a single issue upon which agreement has been reached,” despite the efforts of the chairman to bring together SCCRR members who held sincere, strong, but, in the end, widely divergent views on the complex issues before the Committee.