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WIPO Broadcast Treaty Creates New Legal Rights for Broadcasters

Posted by michael on from the suck-it-up-peons dept.

An anonymous reader writes "WIPO (The World Intellectual Property Organization) created by the UN is now creating a new copyright for 'broadcast transmissions' giving broadcasters ownership of the content that they broadcast (even if the program being broadcast is in the public domain). IP Justice has created a Top 10 List of reasons to reject this proposal and has published a detailed report that dissects the proposal from a civil liberties and freedom of expression point of view." See our previous story for more information.

9 of 223 comments (clear)

  1. Also see by JamesD_UK · · Score: 5, Informative

    See the Union for the Public Domain. We're also working on these issues and have summaries of WIPO proceedings and an analysis of the treaty.

  2. What if they don't own it by Eudial · · Score: 5, Funny

    *off to start broadcasting illegal copies of stuff and then re-download it as the owner of those things*

    --
    GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
  3. Distributing freely? by SIGALRM · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This proposal by the UN can, and has been used to define web content distribution.

    Seems to indicate that in the case of public domain content, such as a government-created documentary or a very old movie or audio recording--you would not be able to freely store and redistribute that content.

    --
    Sigs cause cancer.
  4. There's an old saying... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Rob's Rule of Misgovernment: "When idiots write the law, the law will be idiotic."

  5. They are already doing this successfully! by FreeLinux · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Perhaps you have noticed that most broadcasters are super imposing their logos and other copyrighted images on your screen. That logo effectively stamps the film that they are broadcasting. They own the logo. You can't copy or distribute that logo without their permission. Therefore, you can't use the film in the background without their permission either.

  6. What the treaty actually says... by AaronGTurner · · Score: 5, Informative
    It gives broadcasters the option to copyright their particular transmission of a work. They do not gain any retereospective copyright over works in the public domain as a whole, simply their transmission of it.

    Really this isn't much different from a record company deciding to produce a CD of work so old that it is out of copyright. They would have copyright on the arrangement of bit on the CD, but not on the underlying work. This treaty seems to be an attempt to bring things into line with this, to be honest.

    Or alternatively you can take a copy of a Dickens novel and reproduce the words (since they are out of copyright) but you can't simply photocopy a recently printed copy of the novel and distribute that without breaching copyright.

  7. Re:WPDO by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 5, Funny

    How about World Organization for Open and Free Software.
    WOOF!

  8. Re:I get it now by Fulcrum+of+Evil · · Score: 5, Informative

    However, international treaty is held to supersede the constitution, thus conveniently bypassing any constitutional protections in place.

    In what dreamworld? the constitution is the supreme law. International treaties themselves are just paper - it is only local laws that implement those treaties that hold any force, and they are also subject to the constitution.

    --
    "We returned the General to El Salvador, or maybe Guatemala, it's difficult to tell from 10,000 feet"
  9. #10 should be #1 by snax · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Read the list. Go. Now. Look at #10.

    The proposed treaty would grant broadcasters the right to stop the original creators from otherwise distributing their work!

    That, mes amis, is WRONG.