Diplomatic Conference Ends with no Agreement in spite of Substantial Progress
Geneva, December 20, 2000
Press Releases PR/2000/251
For the first time ever, negotiators from over 120 countries provisionally agreed on a set of rules aimed at strengthening the rights of performers in their audiovisual performances. Provisional agreement was reached at the Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances, which met from December 7 to 20, 2000, on 19 of 20 provisions including national treatment, moral rights, and economic rights covering the right of reproduction, right of distribution, right of rental, and the right of broadcasting and communication to the public. It is the first time for audiovisual performers to be accorded moral rights against any distribution or modification of their performances which would be prejudicial to their reputations.
Provisional agreement on the increased protection of the rights of performers also covers protection against circumvention of technological protection which is used in the digital environment, such as encryption. In addition, it provides remedies against any act of unauthorized removal or alteration of electronic rights management information.
In spite of the significant progress in shoring up the rights of performers in their audiovisual performances, agreement could not be reached on the fundamental question relating to the right of transfer, namely the question of how the performers' rights are acquired by the producers, by law or agreement. The Conference considered a number of different proposals, but divergence between the United States of America and countries of the European Union could not be reconciled at this time.
The Diplomatic Conference concluded by noting provisional agreement reached on 19 articles and recommended to the Assemblies of WIPO member states, which will meet in September 2001, to reconvene the Diplomatic Conference in order to reach agreement on outstanding issues.
At the close of the Conference, many delegations expressed disappointment at the outcome, namely, that an instrument had not been adopted. All delegations, without exception, pledged to continue their best efforts in the future to achieve consensus leading to the adoption of a new instrument in this area. Special thanks were expressed by many to the officers of the Conference and to the WIPO secretariat under the leadership of the Director General, Dr. Kamil Idris as well as to the Chairman of Main Committee I, which dealt with the substantive provisions of the draft instrument, Mr. Jukka Liedes, Special Adviser to the Finnish Government.
The Diplomatic Conference was attended by some 500 delegates from over 120 states and some 50 organizations.
The Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances had sought to finalize an international instrument to safeguard the rights of performers against the unauthorized use of their performances in audiovisual media, such as television, film and video.
The adoption of a new instrument would have strengthened the position of performers in the audiovisual industry by providing a clearer legal basis for the international use of audiovisual works, both in traditional media and in digital networks.
Performerssuch as, singers, musicians, dancers and actorshave enjoyed international protection for their performances since the adoption of the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations (the Rome Convention) in 1961. In 1996, the adoption of WPPT modernized and updated these standards to cover the rights in respect of the use of their audio performances on the Internet. The Rome Convention and the WPPT, however, grant protection mainly in relation to sound recordings of performances.
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