Protection of Broadcasts and Broadcasting Organizations Treaty
Encyclopedia
The WIPO Protection of Broadcasts and Broadcasting Organizations Treaty or the Broadcast Treaty is a treaty designed to afford broadcasters some control and copyright
-like control over the content of their broadcasts.
Note that this was in 2007 and in November/2008 the US re-open talks about the Treaty and the internet.
'"Proponents say they need this treaty to prevent" the unauthorized reception of signals'.
- like the ones represented by UK Podcasters Association - don't like that the treaty would "would require signatory countries to provide legal protection for technological protection measures
(TPM) and is likely to lead to technology mandate laws controlling the design of broadcast-receiving devices." Podcasters and the EFF also worries that the Treaty will hurt innovation in podcasting and internet distribution technologies.
Intel, AT&T, Sony, CTIA - The Wireless Association, the US Public Interest Research Group, and the American Association of Law Libraries says that "Creating broad new... rights in order to protect broadcast signals is misguided and unnecessary, and risks serious unintended negative consequences" and "We note with concern that treaty proponents have not clearly identified the particular problems that the treaty would ostensibly solve, and we question whether there are in fact significant problems that are not addressed adequately under existing law".
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
-like control over the content of their broadcasts.
Overview
According to the US Government:
Because existing international agreements relevant to broadcasting protections do
not cover advancements in broadcasting technology that were not envisioned when they
were concluded, in 1998 the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights
(SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) decided to proceed
with efforts to negotiate and draft a new treaty that would extend protection to new
methods of broadcasting, but has yet to achieve consensus on a text. In recent years, a
growing signal piracy problem has increased the urgency of concluding a new treaty,
resulting in a decision to restrict the focus to signal-based protections for traditional
broadcasting organizations and cablecasting. Consideration of controversial issues of
protections for webcasting (advocated by the United States) and simulcasting will be
postponed. However, considerable work remains to achieve a final proposed text as the
basis for formal negotiations to conclude a treaty by the end of 2007, as projected. A
concluded treaty would not take effect for the United States unless Congress enacts
implementing legislation and the United States ratifies the treaty with the advice and
consent of the Senate. Noting that the United States is not a party to the 1961 Rome
Convention, various stakeholders have argued that a new broadcasting treaty is not
needed, that any new treaty should not inhibit technological innovation or consumer use,
and that Congress should exercise greater oversight over U.S. participation in the
negotiations.
Note that this was in 2007 and in November/2008 the US re-open talks about the Treaty and the internet.
Positive
According to the EFFEFF
EFF may refer to:* The Effective Federal funds rate* Electronic Frontier Foundation, a U.S. non-profit advocacy group* Elf Fantasy Fair, a fantasy event in the Netherlands* Economic Freedom Fund, a U.S. political organization* Equipped for the Future, a U.S...
'"Proponents say they need this treaty to prevent" the unauthorized reception of signals'.
Negative
PodcastersPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
- like the ones represented by UK Podcasters Association - don't like that the treaty would "would require signatory countries to provide legal protection for technological protection measures
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
(TPM) and is likely to lead to technology mandate laws controlling the design of broadcast-receiving devices." Podcasters and the EFF also worries that the Treaty will hurt innovation in podcasting and internet distribution technologies.
Intel, AT&T, Sony, CTIA - The Wireless Association, the US Public Interest Research Group, and the American Association of Law Libraries says that "Creating broad new... rights in order to protect broadcast signals is misguided and unnecessary, and risks serious unintended negative consequences" and "We note with concern that treaty proponents have not clearly identified the particular problems that the treaty would ostensibly solve, and we question whether there are in fact significant problems that are not addressed adequately under existing law".
Related laws
- DMCA
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- Bill C-61
- CopyrightCopyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
Related technologies
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- Peer-to-peerPeer-to-peerPeer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
- PodcastingPodcastingA podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
- YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
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Other
- WIPO
- User-generated contentUser-generated contentUser generated content covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies. It entered mainstream usage during 2005 having arisen in web publishing and new media content production circles...
- Electronic Frontier FoundationElectronic Frontier FoundationThe Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
- Creative CommonsCreative CommonsCreative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...