Proposed International Copyright Treaty Draws Criticism

[Kristijntje]

An online culture built around user-generated content on Web sites like YouTube and MySpace would be imperiled by a new treaty, public interest groups and some technology companies said Tuesday.

At issue is a treaty called "Protection of the Rights of Broadcasting Organizations," which proponents say is necessary to ensure that TV and cable broadcasters--and now, their Web-based counterparts--have the tools to combat unauthorized retransmission of their signals. The World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO, a specialized arm of the United Nations, gave the go-ahead in 2003 to begin drafting the treaty, but a final version is still pending.

Opponents say the treaty would go far beyond targeting so-called "signal piracy." They warn that it would give broadcasters and Webcasters exclusive, 50-year rights to authorize rebroadcasting of their signals, would create additional legal hoops for the average Internet user to jump through, and could shrink existing protections in U.S. law for public domain works and other instances of fair use...

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