On 26 September 2018, at the 2018 WIPO General Assembly, the United States of America made the following intervention on the WIPO Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations.
World Intellectual Property Organization Assemblies of the Member States September 24 to October 2, 2018
AGENDA ITEM 14: Report on the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) DOCUMENT: WTO/GA/50/3
U.S. INTERVENTION AS DELIVERED
Protection of Broadcasting Organizations
The United States supports updating protection for broadcasting organizations under the terms of the 2007 GA mandate, which calls for a “signal-based approach” to provide protection for the activities of broadcasting organizations “in the traditional sense.”
As we have explained before, the United States believes that such protection should be narrow in scope, focusing on the key problem of the unauthorized retransmission of the broadcast signal to the public over all platforms, including over the Internet.
At the same time, we are aware that rapid technological changes are taking place in the broadcasting industry, which present significant challenges to establishing international norms.
We have been reflecting on our discussions, and expect to be ready to provide new ideas for moving forward at the next session of the SCCR.
We plan to table a text that could serve to bridge the gaps between different Member States’ approaches.
Hopefully this will generate a fresh look at the fundamental issues, and promote greater consensus on common goals.
We cannot agree yet to setting a specific date for a diplomatic conference. The SCCR is not yet at the point that it has developed a mature text that would ensure success.
We believe that real progress can be made in November’s meeting, however, that will take us further in that direction.