Special Funding Appeal for IP Justice’s 2007 WIPO Broadcast Treaty Campaign
This webpage is dedicated specifically for accepting donations to fund IP Justice’s work to reform the proposed WIPO Broadcast Treaty in 2007. Read more about how the proposal threatens free expression and technological innovation below.
IP Justice is an international civil liberties organization that promotes balanced intellectual property laws. We are a non-profit organization and rely upon donations and grants to fulfill our mission. Please support our work to reform the WIPO Broadcast Treaty and make a tax-deductible contribution using this form. We need to raise US $7,400 to reach our goal and participate in all of the meetings in 2007 on the Broadcast Treaty.
Donate to IP Justice’s 2007 WIPO Broadcast Treaty Campaign:
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Greetings IP Justice Supporter:
2006 was the busiest year yet in IP Justice’s fight to promote balanced intellectual property laws and protect civil liberties — and 2007 promises to be equally engaging! We need your help to continue the important work of protecting civil liberties against encroaching intellectual property rights –especially in cyberspace.
IP Justice’s WIPO Broadcast Treaty Campaign
One of IP Justice’s biggest projects in 2006 was our effort to remove the most harmful provisions in the proposed World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Broadcast Treaty.
IP Justice participated at all of the meetings at WIPO on the Broadcast Treaty in 2006 to discuss the proposal’s harmful provisions with Member State delegates, including the meetings of Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights (SCCR) and the WIPO General Assembly.
The proposal to create special “webcasters’ rights” was removed from the draft in 2006 and the US Government eased up on pushing for the treaty after it realized the proposal’s negative impact on technological innovation. There has never been a better time to become engaged in the campaign to reform the WIPO Broadcast Treaty than right now.
At the 2006 WIPO General Assembly, Member States voted to hold two additional meetings in early 2007 in order to try to achieve consensus on the draft proposal. After 7 years of debate, Member States still cannot agree on the proposal’s most basic provisions. And now the proposal’s backers such as WIPO’s Secretariat are pulling out all the stops to arm-twist Member States into reaching a “consensus”. If Member States reach agreement before the 2007 General Assembly, then a Diplomatic Conference will be held in November 2007 to begin final treaty drafting.
IP Justice needs your help to continue work on the WIPO Broadcasting Treaty in 2007.
If you are concerned about the radical proposal to create 8 new intellectual property rights for broadcast companies, please consider making a donation targeted specifically at IP Justice’s 2007 WIPO Broadcast Treaty campaign.
What’s Wrong with the Proposed WIPO Broadcast Treaty?
1. 8 New Exclusive IP Rights Instead of “Signal-Based” Approach
Even though the 2006 WIPO General Assembly explicitly voted that the treaty should take a “signal-based” or “theft-of-service” approach, the WIPO Secretariat and the European Community continue to insist that the treaty instead create 8 entirely new exclusive intellectual property rights for broadcast companies.
2. Regulation of Internet Transmissions of Media Still Within Proposal
The current proposal broadly forbids the retransmission of programming “by any means, including over computer networks”. Even though the special webcasters’ rights were removed from the proposal in 2006, this draft continues to broadly regulate Internet transmission of media.
3. Broadcast Companies Get Anti-Circumvention Rights Too
Despite the growing awareness of the harm to innovation, competition, and free expression that copyright holders’ anti-circumvention rights have created, the proposed Broadcast Treaty would give an additional right to broadcast companies to place digital locks on programming that it would be illegal to break. Not a single country has granted broadcasters anti-circumvention rights, yet WIPO’s proposal would experiment with them in this global
treaty.
4. There’s more …
Still not convinced the proposed WIPO Broadcast Treaty is a bad idea? Read more analysis from IP Justice on WIPO Broadcast Treaty:
IP Justice’s Top 10 Reasons To Reject the Broadcast Treaty
IP Justice Executive Director Robin Gross’ Article in IP-Watch:
Inside Views: WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Contains Unsupported Webcasting and “Digital Locks”
IP Justice Website on WIPO Broadcasting Treaty
IP Justice Expenses in 2007 for WIPO Broadcast Treaty Campaign: $7,400
Traveling to and staying in Geneva, Switzerland to participate in WIPO meetings can be costly and is the main expense for this campaign. But directly speaking with the Member States delegates is undoubtedly one of the most effective ways of reforming the treaty.
IP Justice Global Policy Fellow Petra Buhr from Germany will again represent IP Justice at many of these broadcast meetings in 2007. We anticipate IP Justice’s travel and accommodation costs to participate in 2007 Broadcast Treaty meetings will be approximately $7,400. Here’s a breakdown of anticipated expenses:
- IP Justice’s participation at the 16th SCCR in Geneva in January 2007 will cost approximately $700;
- IP Justice’s participation at the 17th SCCR in Geneva in June 2007 will also cost approximately $700;
- IP Justice’s participation at the WIPO General Assembly in Geneva will cost approximately $1,000;
- IP Justice’s participation at the [possible] 3-week WIPO Diplomatic Conference to finalize the Broadcast Treaty beginning in November 2007 will cost approximately $5,000;
Please Donate to IP Justice’s 2007 WIPO Broadcast Treaty Campaign
We need your help to reform the proposed treaty. Please make a contribution today to ensure IP Justice can continue to represent the public interest at the WIPO Broadcast Treaty meetings in 2007. IP Justice is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, so donations are 100% tax-deductible in the United States. Donations through this form are earmarked specifically to fund IP Justice’s WIPO Broadcast Treaty campaign in 2007.Thank you for your support!
Yours truly,
Robin Gross
IP Justice Executive DirectorDonate to IP Justice’s 2007 WIPO Broadcast Treaty Campaign:
Or download our donation form to process your donation off-line: * IP Justice is a California non-profit corporation and an IRS approved 501(c)(3) charitable organization, so all donations made to IP Justice are 100% tax-deductible in the United States. For your tax purposes, IP Justice’s Employer Identification number is 16-1640618.
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