One of the items on the agenda for the
upcoming WIPO General Assembly meeting is the Broadcast Treaty, something
that WIPO has been working on for 10 years, and something that WIPO seems
eager to move to some conclusion.
The proposed Treaty has been controversial, and not just between the IP supporters and IP skeptics. The content industries have been less-than-enthusiastic about the Treaty, because any content carried by a broadcaster is already covered by the copyright of its owner. And that argument is fairly compelling.
But this article from the Wall Street Journal highlights the kind of signal piracy that broadcasters are worried about, and is exactly the kind of thing that the Broadcast Treaty is designed to deal with, as I understand it.
So, is piracy piracy?
The proposed Treaty has been controversial, and not just between the IP supporters and IP skeptics. The content industries have been less-than-enthusiastic about the Treaty, because any content carried by a broadcaster is already covered by the copyright of its owner. And that argument is fairly compelling.
Update: Of course, broadcasters are also copyright owners for content they create. In fact, broadcasters are BOTH owners of copyright and ALSO users of public domain information, so it could be said that they have a rather balanced view on IP issues.
But this article from the Wall Street Journal highlights the kind of signal piracy that broadcasters are worried about, and is exactly the kind of thing that the Broadcast Treaty is designed to deal with, as I understand it.
So, is piracy piracy?
Update: Here's another recent article on the Broadcast Treaty from Wired magazine.
Another update: The Wired article cited above is from a YEAR AGO last August. My mistake. While some of the info in the article is now out-of-date, it is still interesting to see what some of the arguments are.