The goals set after the previous SCCR included addressing the technical issues in the Third Revised Draft Text for the WIPO Broadcasting Organizations Treaty. The informal discussions, which we cannot report on according to the agreed protocols of these meetings, sought to do that.
Lunchtime saw the second side event of this week, hosted by the International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations (FIAPF). Titled Leveraging Exclusive Rights to Finance International Film & TV Co-productions, the speakers at the event included Chilean producer Giancarlo Nasi (Quijote Films), Polish sales agent Katarzyna Siniarska (New Europe Film Sales) and French producer Justin Pechberty (Les Valseurs) who delivered a detailed and fascinating look into the production of the films Blanquita and Lamb among others. Through these concrete examples they demonstrated the extended lead times, the risk exposure of different investors, and highlighting the long development phases, the levels of investment and risk as a project seeks sufficient funding to cover production and secures successful platforms at film festivals. All of the speakers were united in underlining the importance of how a clear predictable international copyright system enables the production of such works. Going to the heart of the mix of cultural works that appeal to our emotions and the business side of making films Siniarska said when asked about the acceptable level of risk: There is a sweet spot between our rational expectation of success of the film and our love of the project.
After the side events, informal discussions on the Broadcasting Treaty continued. Delegates returned to the plenary chamber just before 5pm and the Chair reported on the progress made over the last two days (without closing the agenda item to allow further discussions during the week) before giving Member States the opportunity to comment. A number of Member States recognised the progress made while others expressed frustration at the longstanding nature of the discussions and the need to find a resolution. Observers were then given the opportunity to share their comments with EBU calling for a Diplomatic Conference now.
SCCR 45 Chair, Adriana Moscoso, then opened the agenda items on Exceptions and Limitations.
The first item was a presentation by the secretariat of the Virtual Panel on Cross Border uses in the Educational and Research Sectors which took place on Friday 15 March.
The subsequent Statements from Member States and observers then mixed reactions to the Virtual Panel and more general comments on the Exceptions and Limitations agenda item.
The session closed with a reception before the screening of the award-winning film “The Society of the Snow” directed by J.A. Bayona. The film, a Uruguay/Spain co-production was introduced by the Uruguayan ambassador, the Deputy Director General of the Spanish Ministry of Intellectual Property and the author of the book that the film was adapted from, Pablo Vierci.
The video from the morning of day 1 of SCCR is now available on the WIPO Webcasting platform here: https://webcast.wipo.int/video/SCCR_45_2024-04-15_AM_122383
Wednesday’s discussions will look at the following items:
- Discussions on Professor Raquel Xalabarder’s Study on the Challenges of Research Institutions and Research Purposes in Relation to Copyright (document SCCR/44/4)
- The US Proposal for the Updated Version of the Document “Objectives and Principles for Exceptions and Limitations for Libraries and Archives” (document SCCR/44/5)
- The African Group Draft Proposal by the African Group for the Implementation of the Work Program on Exceptions and Limitations (document SCCR/44/6)
- The Secretariat implementation plan for the Work Program on Exceptions and Limitations (document SCCR 45/6).