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Pending the approval of its Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe will try to promote a new broadcasting international document, building on the failed convention for the protection of broadcasting signals of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

As WIPO's 184 members have failed in agreeing upon a text for the treaty and as the conference for a full negotiation planned for November 2007 was postponed at the request of several member states and the European Broadcasting Union, the Council of Europe intends to proceed on reinforcing the initial WIPO recommendations on the matter. "I suspect that Council of Europe member states would be very happy if the WIPO deadlock were overcome and revert to WIPO negotiations," Jan Malinowski, head of the Council's Media and Information Society Division, told Intellectual Property Watch. "However, at present many feel that progress at the Council of Europe level is desirable."

According to Malinowski, the Council would deal with the issue "by establishing a stronger legal basis in international law to provide guidance to states as to how to regulate the matter." He stated that during the last 20 years the Council has already "elaborated other instruments designed to enhance the protection of broadcasters neighbouring rights" such as the "Convention on the legal protection of services based on, or consisting of, conditional access adopted in 2001" and the "2002 Recommendation on measures to enhance the protection of the neighbouring rights of broadcasting organisations."

IP issues have been also tackled by the Council's Convention on Cybercrime, by dealing in a more general sense with the infringement of copyright and related rights online or through computer systems. Also, regarding the concerns expressed by civil rights organisations and developing countries related to the fair access rules, Malinowski said: "A human rights-centred approach is also necessary when examining access to education, to knowledge, research, and I would add, also as regards cultural and artistic expression and scientific development." He also added that "Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights consecrates the right to freedom of expression and information without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers".

A group of specialists of the Council of Europe has the task to prepare a report on the trends and issues related to the protection of intellectual property rights as well as "the fundamental right to freedom of expression and free flow of information, access to knowledge and education, the promoting of research and scientific development and the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions and artistic creation" and to make concrete proposals for actions to be taken in this area.

Broadcasting Treaty: Council of Europe Picks Up Where WIPO Left Off (10.12.2007)
http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=864

EDRI-gram: The broadcast treaty stalled by WIPO General Assembly (11.10.2006)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.19/broadcast