37th SCCR: CIS Statement on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

There still remain concerns about the weak language on limitations and exceptions in the proposed treaty.

The proposed treaty is bound to have adverse effects on legally accepted existing practices of sharing and using online works. Libraries, archives, museums, educational and research institutions, public interest organisations such as Creative Commons, organisations and efforts directed at making orphan works available online – all perform critical roles to advance the progress of society. There is a looming threat on the continuation of their ability to access and to provide the public subsequent access to their collections. Thus, there is a dire need to incorporate robust solutions into the treaty text to not have unintended consequences on the society.

We must also make note of developments such as Facebook acquiring rights to stream La Liga matches in the Indian subcontinent and acquisition of Pandora by a broadcaster (Sirius XM). In such an environment, it is becoming impossible to technically eliminate the role of computer networks insofar as creating the signal and transmitting it is concerned. The treaty still envisages to not benefit those transmissions that occur exclusively on computer networks. In light of new business and technological realities, the deficiencies in the Committees discussions are already apparent. We urge the committee to work to ensure that the resultant treaty is balanced in letter and spirit, both.

Thank you.