And We Quote...
in cra-briefings33 · January 20, 2006
In the evolution of the Information Society, particular attention must be given to the special situation of indigenous people, as well as to the preservation of their heritage and cultural legacy.
We further commit ourselves to promote the inclusion of all peoples in the Information Society through the development and use of local and or indigenous languages in ICT’s (Information and Communication Technologies). We will continue our efforts to protect and promote cultural diversity, as well as cultural identities, within the information society.
— Articles 22 and 32 of the Tunis Declaration, World Summit on the Information Society
Alliance Activities
in cra-briefings33 · January 20, 2006
Alliance co-chair, Susan Crean attended the 6th Ministerial meetings of the world Trade Organization in Hong Kong December 13th to 18th. These meetings were the next step in the socalled Doha Development Round of negotiations that focus on the GATS agreement in services. The fervent hope of the organizers and the host city was that this time the gathering would make progress. Expectations were lower than at the 5th round, held in Cancun Mexico in 2003, but the stakes were higher as the credibility of the WTO was at stake.
This time non-governmental organizations and the media met in the same complex as the negotiators, at the huge and stately convention and exhibition centre in the middle of Wan Chai. The official agenda consisted of public speeches by various government representatives and officials, leading off with a pep-talk by the WTO’s new Director General, Pascal Lamy quoting the popular Chinese proverb, “If you don’t go into the cave of the tiger, how will you get its cub?” and exhorting the assembly to “be open-minded, be bold, be courageous. Enter the cave of the tiger and leave Hong Kong with a prize in your hands the assurance that the Doha Development Round has a real chance…”
Throughout the seven days, there were meetings, workshops, press conferences, and twice daily briefings at the Canadian delegation by Canada’s from chief negotiator John Gero and Don Stephenson, Canadian Ambassador to the WTO.
During the week a number of international and regional NGOs and local interest groups staged workshops on site and elsewhere in Hong Kong, and a Trade and Development Symposium that included a trade fair of (textiles, jewelry, clothes) produced under fair trade conditions in Asia was presented held by an international alliance led by OXFAM. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong hosted a roster of workshops and power lunches at the Ritz Carleton (including a session by the Canadian Teachers Federation on the commercialization of education). The International Network for Cultural Diversity (INCD) presented an evening event, a lively combination of screenings and presentations by activists from New Zealand, China, Australia, and the Philippines. Maori singer, songwriter Moana Maniapoto screened the film “Guarding the Family Silver” which documents the experience she had when a German businessman trademarked her name and threatened to sue her if she used it for commercial purposes, like selling concert tickets or CDs. The workshop was titled “Defending Cultural Diversity from the WTO” and MC’d by New Zealand law professor and activist Jane Kelsey (and INCD Steering Committee member), and Professor Stephen Ching-Kiu Chan who a core member of the People`s Panel on West Kowloon (Lingnan University).
Human Rights, Trade & Development
A NGO Human Rights Caucus formed in advance of the WTO meetings, met in Hong Kong several times. A declaration was released on December 10th addressing the impact of free trade on human rights, arguing that trade agreements should take these into account. The statement was signed 120 NGOs including the CRA/ADC. The work in Hong Kong was led by Montreal based Rights and Democracy’s Carole Samdup, and Carin Smaller of Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) which together organized a session at the Trade and Development Symposium on Human Rights “Trade Rules and the Right to Food”. There were several Canadian participants in the HR Caucus including Foodgrains Bank, OXFAM, the North-South Institute, the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC) and the Quaker International Affairs Program. The HR Caucus Statement read in part,
Increased trade can undoubtedly serve as one means for the realization of human rights-especially the right to development—but it does not automatically or necessarily do so. Even when trade does bring increased wealth poor distribution of the benefits both within and between nations, perpetuates poverty and impedes the progressive realization of human rights. ....
Human rights and economic policy are interconnected to a degree that demands coherence in international and national law, policy and practice. In the wider context of the security-development-human rights nexus, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has declared in his March 2005 report, In Larger Freedom, that:
We will not enjoy development without security, we will not enjoy security without development, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights. Unless all these causes are advanced, none will succeed.
Nevertheless, the international trade regime has repeatedly denied and rejected any intersection between its mandate and human rights. This is both logically and legally indefensible especially since most WTO members have ratified at least one of the major UN human rights treaties.
A Statement was also circulate by Public Service International (PSI) on behalf of trade unions and NGOs, giving a detailed review of the issues raised by the negotiations.
The current trade > growth > development paradigm is a failure, as even the World Bank, the IMF and OECD data is beginning to acknowledge. More trade can, under certain circumstances, create growth. Yet we must always ask: what kind of growth; growth for whom? Today it is jobless growth, a phenomenon widely known around the globe. Trade and domestic growth statistics today are meaningless indicators of true national wealth (though they do indicate corporate wealth!), the well being of the people of a country. What ultimately counts is the kind of growth and the pattern of development these statistics describe and whether that pattern tells us that farmers and workers are on the way to obtaining decent incomes and decent working conditions and livelihoods or whether, on the contrary, they can look forward to the continued growth of poverty and insecurity.
The Statement called for a moratorium on the current negotiations, and for a full public assessment of the employment, social, environmental and cultural impacts of existing trade and investment rules. Here’s the full text.
The results of Hong Kong?
In the course of the negotiations there were two events of note. First, the emergence of the Group of 110 or G110 which held a press conference on December 16th calling its formation historic and stating that as 110 of the WTO’s 149 members, representing four-fifths of humanity, they had “bonded on the issues”, that their purpose was to “stop the iniquities of global trade.” The session was chaired by the minister of Brazil.
Second, in addition to the demonstrations outside in the streets of Hong Kong, there were small and ingenious protests staged by NGO representatives inside the convention centre. Thus the issues of poverty, displacement, lack of food and ill-health, the human costs of free trade, were kept in the frame of the discussions. Immediately following the press conference of the G110, for example, a group of farmers gathered on the steps leading in from the grand entrance, holding placards with messages like “U.S. Family Farmers want fair market prices not subsidies”, and blowing whistles. The sound was eerie and close to ear splitting, and at odds with the peaceful attitude of the two dozen farmers from France, West Africa, Cambodia, Brazil, Japan, the US and Canada’s (UPI’s Andr Beaudoin) who stood there insistently but patiently reminding negotiators of the fundamentals: the right of countries to protect local production, to collective marketing and supply management, and to food sovereignty, sustainable agriculture and safe food for children.
Human Rights Caucus
In its press release on December 19th, the NGO Human Rights Caucus stated the outcome of the meetings would “rollback the enjoyment of human rights around the world”. The failure of the talks to achieve a true development outcome was a direct consequence of the refusal to acknowledge the impact of trade policy on human rights.
Despite the announcement of a “development package,” the agreement further restricts the policy space required for national governments to implement their human rights obligations, which are integral to development.
Many developing countries have complained of political pressure exerted by developed country capitals to give further concessions on services and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) in exchange for a limited compromise on agriculture and an illusory deal on access to medicines.
Developing countries are being forced to choose between putting food on the table and providing adequate healthcare for their people, Caucus members emphasized. Access to adequate food, health and education are all human rights and must not become bargaining chips in a power game between unequal players.
Full text of the Statement and Press release.
Reuters coverage.
The text of the Draft Ministerial Declaration.
Creators’ Rights Alliance – UK
On the way to Hong Kong, Susan Crean was able to attend the yearend meeting of the CRA in London. There was much discussion there of new licensing regimes being introduced with the active support of by groups like the Creative Commons and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, without consideration for or input from creators. This is apparently the case of the recently launched Creative Archive License by a consortium of public institutions including the BBC, the British Film Institute, Open University and the Teachers’ Channel. The slogan they have adopted, to be found on the BBC’s website, goes “find it, rip it, mix it, share it.” More information from the BBC.
Updates
in cra-briefings33 · January 20, 2006
STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH PIRACY
In South Korea, the governing Uri Party has proposed legislation that would require Internet Service Providers to supervise the file sharing transactions of its customers. If the law is passed, ISPs who observed transactions involving the sharing copyright protected material would be obligated to delete or stop the transaction. If the ISP’s fail to do this they could be subject to a fine of up to 50 million won. As expected, this bill is facing strong opposition from ISPs and the user community. For more information on this bill please see www.asiamedia.ucla.edu.
SINGAPORE ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN THE DIGITAL MEDIA INDUSTRY
In early December, Viviane Balakvishan, Singapore’s second Minister for Trade and Finance, announced an investment of $590.5US million in the development of the digital media industry over the next decade. The investment will be administered by the Economic Development Board, and with the money will go to regional and local talent, supporting the creation and development of media specialty schools. For more information on this program see www.news.com.com.
CHANGES FOR CREATORS IN THE UK
Songwriters in the United Kingdom are seeking increased compensation for the downloading of their music. In a case currently before the UK Copyright Tribunal, songwriters are seeking an increase of 2p-4p per download (up to 7p-9p) . This action was brought before the Tribunal in response to steps taken by the British Phonographic Industry, which is seeking to cut the songwriter’s earnings from 5p to 2p per download. For more information on this case see http://technology.guardian.co.uk.
While the songwriters are fighting to protect the current levels of their share of producers’ revenues, effective January 1st 2006, visual artists will have remuneration rights for the resale of their works. The droit de suite right has been introduced to cover resale of an artwork worth more than €1000. The creator will be entitled to a portion of the resale price (0.25 to 4%) up to a maximum royalty of €12,500. To find out more about this new right for creators see www.patent.gov.uk.
A sweeping review of intellectual property law is taking place in the United Kingdom. Chancellor Gordon Brown has asked Andrew Gowers, the former editor of the Financial Times, to conduct an independent review of intellectual property law in the UK. The review will consider the ability of business to negotiate the business aspects of intellectual property law including licensing, litigation and enforcement. It will also consider whether the current law recognizes the impact of the digital environment including the application and relevance of the fair use provisions. For more information see www.ifrro.org.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY
In November 2005, WIPO and the Italian government hosted a three-day meeting addressing the role and value of intellectual property in the fashion industry. Though the fashion world has been known as a place for sharing ideas, the industry has recognized that copyright, industrial design, trademarks and patents can be used to increase profits and decrease the incidence of piracy. (Examples like the designer handbag knock-off industry in New York, are cited.) For more information on these meetings and their results see www.wipo.org (press release 432).
CAN CREATIVE FREEDOM IMPACT INTERNATIONAL POLICY?
The Turkish government brought an action against Orhan Pamuk, one of Turkey’s best known writers (the award-winning My Name is Red, his 2004 novel Snow and the recent memoir of is natal city, Istanbul, have been translated into over twenty languages). Pamuk has been charged with for making statements that “offended the Turkish identity”. The charge comes from a statement Pamuk made to a Swiss journalist last February. “Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares talk about it.” Pamuk was referring to instances of cultural genocide that took place in Turkey up to 90 years ago. This case has been adjourned to February 9, 2006 on grounds that this action should be approved by the Minister of Justice before proceeding. In court on December 16th, Pamuk was accompanied by a phalanx of journalists and writers, many of them foreigners there to lend physical and moral support.
As Turkey prepares to cede to the European Union, this case is being watched on two fronts. First, for what it means in terms of journalistic freedom in Turkey (aka freedom of the press and the right to freedom of speech), and second for the implications regarding Turkey’s democratic credentials, specifically, the separation of the court system from the state. EU countries will be watching this case, as will the international creative community. It is hoped that this scrutiny will have a positive effect.
For more information on this case see www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en and PEN Canada’s website at: http://www.pencanada.ca/media/TurkeyFocus.pdf.
RESPONDING TO GOOGLE
The publishing community has begun to respond actively to the challenges that are being presented by Google Print and other digitization projects. HarperCollins US is leading the way. Having announced that it will digitize 20,000 books, a good portion of it coming from its back-list. In implementing its own digitization project, HarperCollins plans to keep the rights to its catalogue and to license the rights to search this catalogue to Google and other services. For more information on the HarperCollins’ initiative see www.publishersweekly.com.
Litigation
in cra-briefings33 · January 20, 2006
CREATOR CLASS ACTIONS
On December 6 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada heard the appeal in the Heather Robertson class action. A decision in this case should be handed down in six to nine months.
In the interim, on December 11th the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in a class action brought against National Geographic by freelance journalists and photographers. The Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeal and indicated that it is not a violation of copyright law for National Geographic to convert is magazines (compilations) into CD-Rom format. The Court determined that the magazine was a compilation and the strict conversion, with page views and most content remaining the same, created an “electronic replica” and was a permissible “revision” under the Copyright Act. Notably, National Geographic was also permitted to add content that created better functionality. For more information on this case please see today.reuters.co.uk/news
SETTLEMENT OF THE KAZAA CASE REMAINS OUT OF REACH
In the decision in the Australian Recording Industry Association against KAZAA, Justice Wilcox ordered that Sharman Networks ban a list of 3000 search terms over the p2p network operated as Kazaa. In responding to this order, new Kazaa users are prevented from downloading its software without imbedded search restrictions that will block the download of certain kinds of copyright protected material. However, previous Kazaa users can continue searching as they have before.
The Recording Industry Association was not satisfied with this response and is bringing contempt proceedings against Sharman. In its suit, the RIA is seeking jail time for the proprietors and corporate executive. Jail time for contempt of court related to copyright infringement has never been used before as a penalty in Australia. For more information on this case see www.aria.com.au.
Global Artists' Issues: focus on India
in cra-briefings33 · January 20, 2006
India has established itself as a powerhouse in the international film industry. However, as a culture it is marked by the distinctions between the rich and the poor, and thus, between the technologically savvy and the technologically illiterate.
The Indian Copyright Act was amended in 1999 to meet the protections required by the WTO TRIPs agreement. Under the Copyright Act the maximum penalty for copyright infringement is a fine of Rs 200,000, a jail term of up to three years or both. This fine has a particularly deterrent effect because it is 14 times the average per capita income of the country. For more information on Indian law see www.indianembassy.org.
Piracy is the greatest challenge to copyright enforcement in India. The country is faced with a huge incidence of piracy, including sales of tapes and CDs and other trade goods in local markets, and the movement of pirated goods for the export market. The situation has led to the placement of India on the priority watch list of the Office of the US Trade Representative. Consequently, the National Association of Software and Service Companies, (www.nasscom.org) which has set up a piracy tip line. Steps to combat piracy have also been taken by the Indian government.
To help educate the public about copyright law the government has published a Handbook on Copyright Law, a document intended to provide guidance to stakeholders, and it and has created the Copyright Enforcement Advisory Counsel (www.indianembassy.org). The development of societies for the collective administration of copyright rights is also being encouraged. However, many people remain critical of the government, a problem exacerbated by the fact that the courts are overloaded and movement of creator rights-related cases is at a glacial pace.
Addressing the Technology Gap
During November’s World Summit on the Information Society, participants launched a program entitled “Connecting the World by 2015”. The objective of the program is to offer Internet connectivity to all parts of the world by 2015. India is playing a leading role in this program through its own “Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Center”. The aim of this program is to provide connectivity, thus knowledge, to every village in India by August 15, 2007. This means that 100,000+ centers will be provided with Internet access. This project is being funded by a national alliance of 34 private technology institutions and 10 financial institutions. Canada, though its International Development Agency (CIDA) is offering support.
Preventing Brain Drain
India has been exporting skilled technical workers to other parts of the world for many years. Many in India have expressed concern that if technologically skilled individuals continue to leave the country at current levels there will be a shortfall, or an intellectual deficit, by 2010. In order to protect the developing IT Industries, including communications and the media, and to retard the growing educational divide, the government and private sector need to find ways to keep educated individuals from emigrating. This means creating opportunity within the country. For more on the issues presented by this problem see sdnetindia.com or www.literacyindia.org.
The Other Side of the Technology Divide
The technologically savvy are increasingly participating in the global community through the Internet. www.freemedia.org is the first e-zine (internet based magazine) published in India and blog publications are becoming common there. In response to the growing technological divide, the opinion at Freemedian is that India will have to join other countries like Canada, the United States, Australia and the European Union, in addressing issue of creator’s rights that is inherent in the Internet.
Though identified as a Least Developed Nation by the World Trade Organization, India is in the unique position of also being a world leader in technology development. As a country it has a strong, internationally acceptable, copyright law. The problems it faces are those experienced by many developing nations: protecting copyright and maintaining the technological knowledge that will both allow the country and the technology to continue to keep pace with international development.
Upcoming events for the Indian Creators
January 27—February 4, 2006: New Delhi World Book Fair www.ndtindia.org.in New Delhi, India
February 7-8, 2006: Sun Tech Days, Chennai, India
Organizations that are involved in creators’ rights in India include:
- Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) www.indiavibes.com/iprs
- Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) www.pplindia.org
- Authors’ Guild of India
- Delhi Music Society
- Indian Reprographic Rights Organization
- Indian Science Writers Association
- Indian Federation of Publishers
- Society for Copyright Regulation of Producers of Film and Television (SCRIPT)
NOTE: A number of these societies do not have English or French language websites.
Announcements
in cra-briefings33 · January 20, 2006
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Canadian Intellectual Property and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) have joined forces to launch Online Rights Canada. They state that the aim of this organization is to address issues arising from technology, information technology, Internet surveillance and copyright reform. For more information on the intentions and actions of this organization please see www.eff.org or “www.onlinerights.ca”http://www.onlinerights.ca.
To make an announcement, please e-mail vjones@sympatico.ca