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        SCCR/4/2
        ORIGINAL: English and French
        DATE:February 7, 2000

WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION

GENEVA

STANDING COMMITTEE ON COPYRIGHT
AND RELATED RIGHTS

Fourth Session

Geneva, April 11, 12 and 14, 2000

SUBMISSION ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
AND ITS MEMBER STATES ON THE PROTECTION OF PERFORMERS' RIGHTS
IN THEIR AUDIOVISUAL PERFORMANCES

Submitted by the European Community and its Members States 1

SUBMISSION ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
AND ITS MEMBER STATES ON THE PROTECTION OF PERFORMERS' RIGHTS
IN THEIR AUDIOVISUAL PERFORMANCES

1. In view of the forthcoming discussions on the protection of performers' rights in their audiovisual performances that will take place in the next extraordinary session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the European Community and its Member States wish to reiterate their commitment to the protection of audiovisual performances, as expressed already in previous submissions, notably WIPO documents AP/CE/I/3 Add., AP/CE/2/2, SCCR/1/4, SCCR/2/3 and SCCR/2/4.

2. Separate views and positions have accompanied the discussions on this issue for years. These diverging views were already reflected in the basic proposal for a treaty on the protection of performances and phonogram producers tabled in the course of the preparation for the Diplomatic Conference that took place in December 1996.

3. The European Community and its Member States have always held the view that an international treaty for the protection of performers should cover all performances - both sound and audiovisual. This view has been shared by numerous countries and regions. Unfortunately it was not possible to achieve this result in the framework of the 1996 Diplomatic Conference that adopted the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). The alternative option, according to which audio-visual performances were not to be covered by the WPPT, prevailed-to the deep regret of the European Community and its Member States, as well as many other countries and regions.

4. As a result, at the end of the Diplomatic Conference, the European Community and its Member States fully supported the unanimously adopted Resolution that called for the adoption of an Audiovisual Protocol before the end of 1998.

5. The European Community and its Member States continue to be of the view that the protection of audiovisual performances should be updated and modernised. The reasoning for this position has been explained on numerous occasions but is worth repeating. In our view, the Protocol has three main objectives, which are very similar to the objectives of the WPPT:

6. The European Community and its Member States believe that we have sufficient common ground for these objectives if the Rome Convention (that has been ratified, as of now, by more that 60 countries), the WPPT and the Resolution mentioned above are taken as starting points. Moreover, and in view of the discussions over the last years, our perspectives are now clearer than ever. All relevant issues in fact appear to be on the table, they have been discussed and the views are known.

7. As already stated during the last session of the SCCR, in the view of the European Community and its Member States, four years after the adoption of the WPPT and of the Resolution, the time has come to decide on how to successfully conclude our negotiations. During the next extraordinary session of the SCCR we will have to take a decision on the direction we take.

8. When doing so we should be guided by:

9. On the basis of these objectives, this constructive approach and these guidelines, the European Community and its Member States are ready to move ahead, together with like-minded delegations, and to proceed towards a successful Diplomatic Conference in December 2000.

1 Received on February 4, 2000.