Broadcast Treaty Survey Draft - request for comments and volunteers

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Sat, 03 Apr 2004 16:38:01 -0500
From: David Tannenbaum <davidt () public-domain org>

Dear UPD-discuss subscribers,

As you may have heard, a treaty granting new privileges to broadcasters is
now being considered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
This proposal expands and gives new rights to transmitters of information,
even if they are not the creators of that information, and even if those
works' authors wish to have the works distributed without restriction.

Many of the proposed versions of the treaty pose a threat to the public
domain, and include provisions that would:

* Expand broadcasters' control over the use of material that they broadcast,
even if this material is drawn from the public domain.
* Lengthen the term of this control from 20 to 50 years.
* Extend control to new technologies, including webcasting.
* Prohibit the circumvention of technical measures intended to restrict
"unauthorized" use of materials.

We would like to figure out where countries stand on these provisions so
that citizens can act appropriately to preserve the public domain. Towards
this end, we are drafting a survey in the hope that you would be willing to
call your country's trade office and ask them where they stand on the
issues.

A draft version of this survey is posted below, and we would love to hear
your comments and suggestions on it. If you have any comments, and/or if you
would be willing to call your trade representative, please contact me ASAP!


Yours,
David
Coordinator, Union for the Public Domain

P.S.  The chairman's draft of the treaty is available at
http://www.wipo.int/documents/en/meetings/2004/sccr/index_11.htm. James
Love's note summarizing the main issues is at
http://www.cptech.org/ip/wipo/casting-note-29Oct03.html.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
[DRAFT VERSION 1.0.3]
Union for the Public Domain
Survey of National Trade Reps Regarding the WIPO Broadcasting Treaty

The public domain is regularly threatened by proposals in many
international forums, including the World Intellectual Property
Organization.  One of the major difficulties of protecting the public
domain against these threats is that the positions of national trade
representatives are unknown, even to local citizens.

This questionnaire is being used by volunteers to collect information
about  national positions on the proposed WIPO Broadcast Treaty. The
results you collect will be posted on the Web so that citizens in your
country and  around the world can act appropriately to protect the
public domain.

The proposed WIPO Broadcasting Treaty expands and gives new privileges
to transmitters of information.  Rights that are normally granted to
creators and performers would be given to organizations that merely
transmit creations and performances--even if those works are in the
public domain, or if those works' creators  wish to have the works
distributed without restriction. (For more information see
http://www.public-domain.org).

This questionnaire can be filled out directly by government officials in
your country, or you can interview the officials and report their
answers.  It may take some work to find someone who is willing to answer
the survey, but your persistence will pay off by strengthening our
efforts to protect the public domain.

Please make sure to record the names of the government officials with
whom you interact, and the results of your interaction, even if they
were negative. This way we can be more efficient next time we administer
a survey.

Once you have collected as much information as you can, please e-mail it
to davidt () public-domain org.

Information about person administering survey
---------------------------------------------
Name:
E-mail address:
Country surveyed:
Country of residence:

Record of Interactions with Government Officials
-------------------------------------------------
Date:
Name of official:
Office:
Position:
Contact info (phone, address):
Description of interaction:


Questions for government officials
-----------------------------------

Should WIPO schedule a diplomatic conference on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty?

Should the treaty have a 50 year term of exclusive broadcasting rights,
as proposed by some, or retain the 20 year term in TRIPS, as proposed by
Singapore?

Should Does the Treaty to apply only to traditional wireless
broadcasting; or should the treaty be extended to cable or to the World
Wide Web?

If the treaty includes a provision on webcasting, what is the
appropriate definition of webcasting?

Will the treaty cover all type of content that is broadcast, including
text, and other data?

Is it possible for the treaty to protect only motion pictures and or
sounds, but exclude text and other data?

Should treaty to contain provisions regarding the circumvention of
technological protection measures?

Should the treaty mandate implementation of "broadcast flags"
technologies to protect digital content?

Should the treaty simply provide broadcasters with new rights to
prohibit or authorize fixations, or the rental or re-dissemination of
fixations?

[END, DRAFT VERSION 1.0.3]

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