WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Survey from UPD

The wily folks at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the people who brought you anti-circumvention, are working on a new treaty relating to the rights of broadcasters. David Tannenbaum, of the Union for the Public Domain, describes the draft treaty as follows:

The draft treaty stands to give broadcasters (not creators) the power to regulate copying, reproduction, distribution and right of transmission of their broadcasts. It would extend the length of these powers from 20 to 50 years, and some versions expand the powers to webcasting. The treaty would also make it illegal to circumvent technological protection measures like broadcast flags. All of this even if the broadcast is of a public domain work. This would make it harder to do everything from recording TV shows on your VCR to making video compilations.

UPD is conducting a survey to gauge where countries stand on the proposed treaty. They are looking for reactions from various countries, and you can help them. Check out the survey.

Posted by Will DeVries at May 10, 2004 01:01 PM | TrackBack