WIPO Director General Daren Tang Welcomes Panama's Accession to the Beijing Treaty
WIPO Director General Daren Tang accepted Panama's accession document to the WIPO Beijing Treaty from Deputy Minister of Culture Gabriel Alberto González Paredes.
Mr. Tang accepted the document on the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting of Central America and the Dominican Republic, held in the Dominican Republic, under the theme "Empowering Solutions: Intellectual Property as a tool for innovation, transformation and sub-regional economic recovery".
What is the Beijing Treaty?
The Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, which was adopted on June 24, 2012, and entered into force on April 28, 2020, deals with the intellectual property rights of performers in audiovisual performances.
Overview of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances (2012)
The Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances was adopted by the Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances held in Beijing from June 20 to 26, 2012. The Treaty covers the intellectual property rights of performers in audiovisual performances.
The Treaty confers on performers four types of economic rights in their performances fixed in audiovisual fixations, such as films: (i) the right of reproduction, (ii) the right of distribution, (iii) the right of rental and (iv) the right of making available.
- The right of reproduction is the right to authorize the direct or indirect reproduction of the performance fixed in audiovisual fixations, by any process or in any form.
- The right of distribution is the right to authorize the making available to the public of the original and copies of their performances fixed in audiovisual fixations by sale or other transfer of ownership.
- The right of rental is the right to authorize the commercial rental to the public of the original and copies of their performances fixed in audiovisual fixations.
- The right of making available is the right to authorize the making available to the public, by wire or wireless means, of any performance fixed in an audiovisual fixation, so that members of the public may have access to that performance from a place and at a time individually chosen by them. This right includes, in particular, the making available on request via the Internet.
As regards unfixed (live) performances, the Treaty grants performers three types of economic rights:
(i) the right of broadcasting, (except in the case of retransmission);
ii) the right of communication to the public (except where the performance constitutes a broadcast performance); and
iii) the right of fixation.
The Treaty also confers on performers moral rights, i.e. the right to be recognized as performers (except where the omission is dictated by the manner of use of the performance); and the right to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification prejudicial to the honor and reputation of the author, taking into account the nature of audiovisual fixations.
The Treaty provides that performers shall enjoy the right to authorize the broadcasting and communication to the public of their performances fixed in audiovisual fixations. However, Contracting Parties may notify that, instead of the right of authorization, they shall provide for the right to equitable remuneration for the direct or indirect use for broadcasting or communication to the public of performances fixed in audiovisual fixations. Contracting Parties may, however, limit or, provided they have made a reservation in relation to the Treaty, deny such a right. In such a case, and to the extent that the Contracting Party concerned has made the reservation, the other Contracting Parties have the option of not exercising national treatment vis-à-vis the reserving Contracting Party ("reciprocity").
As regards the assignment of rights, the Treaty provides that Contracting Parties may provide in their national legislation that where the performer has consented to the fixation of his performance in an audiovisual fixation, the exclusive rights referred to above shall be assigned to the producer of the audiovisual fixation (unless otherwise provided in a contract between the performer and the producer). Independently of such assignment of rights, national laws or individual, collective or other agreements may grant the performer the right to receive royalties or equitable remuneration for any use of the performance, as provided for in the Treaty.
As regards limitations and exceptions, Article 13 of the Beijing Treaty incorporates the so-called "three-step rule" for the determination of limitations and exceptions under Article 9(2) of the Berne Convention, which extends its application to all rights. The Agreed Statements accompanying the Treaty provide that the Agreed Statement in respect of Article 10 of the WCT will also apply to the Beijing Treaty, i.e. those limitations and exceptions, established in national law in accordance with the Berne Convention, may be extended to the digital environment. Contracting States may provide for new exceptions and limitations appropriate to the digital environment. The extension of existing limitations and exceptions, or the creation of new ones, is permitted, provided that the conditions of the three-step rule are met.
The duration of protection may not be less than 50 years.
The enjoyment and exercise of the rights provided for in this Treaty shall not be subject to any formality.
The Treaty establishes the obligation of the Contracting Parties to provide legal remedies to prevent acts aimed at neutralizing technical protection measures (e.g. encryption) used by performers in connection with the exercise of their rights, or against the deletion or alteration of information, such as the indication of certain data enabling the identification of the performer, the performance, and the audiovisual fixation itself, which are necessary for the management (e.g., licensing, collection and distribution of royalties) of such rights ("rights management information").
An agreed statement on the interrelationship of technological measures and limitations and exceptions clarifies that nothing prevents a Contracting Party from taking effective and necessary measures to ensure that beneficiaries can enjoy the limitations and exceptions, if technological measures have been applied to an audiovisual performance and if the beneficiary has lawful access to that performance. The above-mentioned effective and necessary measures may need to be taken only where the right holders have not taken effective and adequate measures in relation to such performance to enable the beneficiary to enjoy the limitations and exceptions in accordance with the national law of that Contracting Party.
Without prejudice to the legal protection of an audiovisual work in which a performance is fixed, the obligations relating to technological protection measures shall not apply to performances that do not enjoy protection or no longer enjoy protection under the national law implementing the Treaty.
Contracting Parties shall grant the protection provided for in the Treaty to fixed performances existing at the time of entry into force of the Treaty, as well as to all performances taking place after the entry into force of the Treaty in each Contracting Party. However, a Contracting Party may declare that it will not apply the provisions relating to some or all of the exclusive rights of reproduction, distribution, rental, rental, making available of fixed audiovisual performances, as well as broadcasting and communication to the public, in respect of performances existing at the date of entry into force of the Treaty in each Contracting Party. Other Contracting Parties may, on a reciprocal basis, limit the application of such rights in relation to that Contracting Party.
The Treaty obliges the Contracting Parties to take, in accordance with their legal system, the necessary measures to ensure its implementation. In particular, all Contracting Parties must ensure that enforcement procedures are available under national law to enable effective action to be taken against acts of infringement of the rights provided for in the Treaty. Such measures should include expeditious remedies to prevent infringements, as well as other remedies that constitute an effective deterrent to further infringements.
The Treaty establishes an Assembly of the Contracting Parties whose main function is to deal with matters relating to the maintenance and development of the Treaty, and entrusts the WIPO Secretariat with the administrative work related to it.
The Beijing Treaty will enter into force three months after 30 eligible Parties have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession. Accession to the Treaty is open to WIPO Member States and the European Union. It is for the Assembly constituted under the Treaty to decide on the admission of other intergovernmental organizations. Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO.
Source: WIPO
