The Republic of Korea delivered the following statement outlining the position of the Asia Pacific Group (a large and diverse group of Member States including but not limited to Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, the Republic of Korea and Singapore).
Asia Pacific Group Statement for SCCR 27- finalThank you Mr. Chairman
Good morning dear colleagues.
Mr. Chairman,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of Asia Pacific group.
Mr. Chairman,
The Members of the Asia Pacific group are very happy to see that you are ably guiding the developments in the SCCR. We are confident that your efforts and wisdom would carry us through to another successful session of this important committee. We further take this opportunity to thank the Secretariat for all the logistics provided and the documents prepared.
Mr. Chairman,
Of late SCCR has been the place for some remarkable achievements. First in Beijing and then in Marrakech, we have manifested our united determination that intellectual property would serve the causes of creativity as well as of humanity. However, we need to sustain the momentum of the same dynamism, promise and compromise that enabled us to reach successful consensus last time.
Mr. Chairman,
Regarding the proposed WIPO treaty on protection of broadcasting organizations, the Asia Pacific Group reaffirms its commitment to the signal based approach towards developing an international treaty for the protection of broadcasting organizations as per the 2007 General Assembly mandate which was agreed during the 22nd session of the SCCR. We thank all the regional groups and Member delegations for the textual and conceptual contributions and welcome their proposals. We believe that based on the working documents and different proposals, we will have meaningful technical consultations to settle the outstanding issues in finalization of the scope of protection for broadcasting organizations in this current session. Our discussion will also provide us with more meaningful and profound understanding of the changed broadcasting scenario caused by the advancement of technology.
Mr. Chairman,
The agenda of SCCR has given us the opportunity once again to be able to contribute substantially in the areas of limitations and exceptions to copyright and move forward towards a more balanced and efficient international copyright system for the benefit of right holders as well as for the common men. Libraries, archives and other educational and research institutions are blessings of our civilization and culture. So we should take into account our broader social and development context when we discuss and decide about IP rights and protection about libraries, archives and other educational and research institutions. The advancement in the digital technology also had a huge impact on the mode and nature of activities of these important institutions of our society. And disabled persons are our common responsibility. Nobody questions our overdue obligation that we owe to them. So to find effective and expeditious solutions to all the topics and outstanding issues and to ensure access to educational and information materials and guarantee sustainable rational access to copyrighted works by the persons in real need of assistance, many Member States of our group have the position of requiring the development of a comprehensive and inclusive framework on exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives, educational and research institutions and for persons with other disabilities.
Mr. Chairman,
The Members of the Asia Pacific group will remain constructively engaged in all future negotiations and we assure you our all-out support in carrying out your responsibilities in this Committee.
Thanking you once again.