The following general statement was delivered by France, on behalf of Group B, on the first day (8 November 2010) of SCCR 21.
SCCR 21
Group B opening statementI thank you M. Chair,
Group B is glad to welcome you back in Geneva for this 21st session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, which we hope will be a productive one.
Group B continues to support the conclusion of a treaty on the protection of performances in audiovisual media, for we believe such an international legal instrument would greatly contribute to cultural and economic development as well as promote cultural diversity. In view of the proposals made by several members since the last session of this Committee, holding consultations would be all the more useful.
Group B also remains convinced of the need of a treaty to address the challenges of signal piracy encountered by broadcasting organisations. We think that such a normative solution should be found rapidly.
On exceptions and limitations, group B recognizes the special needs of persons with print disabilities, which group B members already address in their national and regional legislations. The careful examination of possible solutions in this committee reinforces our conviction that a dual track approach involving taking forward both the work of the Stakeholders’ Platform and a potential international instrument promises to be the most likely to produce concrete results.
We commend the work done by the Platform, with the recent launching of its new project TIGAR which will facilitate the transmission of publishers’ titles to trusted intermediaries. We would like to remind everyone that there are two proposals on the table from Group B Members that each tackle the main obstacle to the access to protected works for people with print disabilities, namely the cross-border issue.
We look forward to having substantive discussions on this issue, for we believe working on the substance can help us make progress.
We also stand prepared to discuss in future work of this committee the other important issues under exceptions and limitations raised by the African group.
To conclude M. Chairman, group B is ready to engage this week in substantive and constructive discussions on all items on the agenda and trusts that under your active guidance we can reach successful and balanced conclusions this time.