To: Marybeth Peters, US Copyright Office, Jule Sigal, US Copyright Office, Lois Boland, US Patent & Trademark Office, Marla Poor, US Copyright Office, Ann Chaitowitz, US Patent & Trademark Office, David Carson, US Copyright Office
From: Manon Ress, Consumer Project on Technology
Subject: Request for a public meeting on Proposal for WIPO Treaty on Broadcasting and Cablecasting
November 30, 2006
The undersigned public interest organizations wish to request a public and recordable meeting with the US delegation to WIPO before the Special Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), First Session January 17, 2007 to January 19, 2007 (Geneva, Switzerland).
The undersigned respectfully request that the USPTO or/and the Library of Congress (LOC) invite formal public comments on the proposal to create a new International Treaty obligation establishing a novel intellectual property regime for broadcasting and cablecasting organizations, through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). We believe it is important to have public comments on the impact on U.S. law and affected constituencies if the U.S. or any other country were to ratify a new WIPO Treaty embodying that proposal.
Sincerely,
Consumer Project on Technology
Consumers Union
Consumer Electronics Association
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Federation of State PIRGs
IP Justice
Library Copyright Alliance
Public Knowledge
U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG)
Yale Information Society Project
Response from Marla Poor of US Copyright Office:
"My Office, together with PTO, intend to hold another public roundtable on this issue at the beginning of January. We will be putting out a Federal Register notice shortly that will have all of the details of the meeting and will advise you when that notice is out." (Email from Marla Poor 1 December 2006)