Anti-climax at WIPO: Broadcasting treaty not quite dead
gerloff
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Friday 22 June 2007
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It's been a harrowing day, and I'm not even near Geneva,
where the negotiations on a WIPO broadcasting treaty went through some
ups and downs today. After yesterday's session, it looked as if the
treaty would be gone for good, as numerous delegations had piled in to
make new demands just before closing time.
Today, on the last day
of the relevant committee's session, the chairman (who's been on the
job for decades, apparently) came back with the recommendation - to the
sound of jaws dropping - to convene a diplomatic conference next year.
A conference means that the treaty is basically a done deal.
In
today's afternoon session, negotiators finally reached an anti-climax,
which is quite typical for WIPO. The treaty will stay on the
committee's agenda, but that's it for now:
The General Assembly decides that the subject of protection of
broadcasting and cablecasting organizations be retained in the agenda
of the SCCR for its regular sessions, and considers the convening of a
diplomaticconference only after agreement on object and scope of the treaty [...].
Thanks to KEI's Manon Ress for quickly posting the decisions. They'll take weeks to appear on the WIPO website; so much for transparency.
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