In our capacity as accredited observers of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), we are attending the 48th session of the Committee, which is currently taking place in Geneva (18-22 May, 2026).
Today, we made the following statement on the protection of broadcasting organizations (Agenda Item 4).
Dear Delegates,
I speak on behalf of the COMMUNIA Association for the Public Domain. We would like to call the attention of Delegates to the fact that, after eight drafting iterations of the Broadcast Treaty, we still have not seen amendments that adequately reflect the public interests and needs of access to knowledge and culture. This remains the case even though several delegations have consistently called for such amendments.
We have long stated that the rights-based model creates a serious danger for the Public Domain. Broadcast signals routinely contain Public Domain material. Without a clear safeguard, broadcasters could place new layers of exclusivity over material that already belongs to the public.
At the same time, the Treaty must guarantee that broadcasters are not granted broader rights over signals than creators have over the content carried by those signals. With a rights-based approach, it must be guaranteed that, at the very least, the same mandatory exceptions that already exist for copyrighted works apply to broadcast signals.
Thank you.
