The following is the general statement made by Teresa Nobre on Limitations and Exceptions (Agenda Items 6 and 7):

I’m speaking on behalf of COMMUNIA, the International Association on the Digital Public Domain.

I would like to start by making yet another request to Member States from developed countries, in particular those from my region, to soften their position against the need to harmonise copyright exceptions for the benefit of public interests related to access to knowledge and education, and freedom of expression. These interests are protected by human rights and are of no less importance than the interests of right holders, which are already highly harmonised.

We recall again that the European Union will soon adopt mandatory exceptions for various uses, including for text and data mining, education and for preservation for libraries and cultural heritage institutions. These new exceptions are designed to work across borders, have strong protections against contractual overrides, and give enough flexibility for Member States, namely on the level of remuneration.

We insist: this regional effort shows that agreeing on minimum standards is possible, while still taking into account local specificities.

For these reasons, we have worked together with other NGOs on the draft of a civil society proposed treaty on copyright exceptions and limitations for education and research activities. TERA, our draft treaty, was based on previous work by this Committee and incorporates provisions of existing international agreements and of national laws. We hope this draft will be of use to this Committee and will be taken into consideration during the regionals’ work towards the creation of guidance and recommendations to build an international instrument.

Thank you.

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The following is the statement made by Teresa Nobre on our behalf on agenda item 5: Protection of Broadcasting Organizations.

I’m speaking on behalf of COMMUNIA International Association on the Digital Public Domain.

We understand that illegal streaming of broadcast signals is a serious issue, but as Prof. Bernt Hugenholtz recently reminded us broadcasters in most countries already enjoy solid legal protection against signal piracy and other unauthorized uses. Copyright protection is available to them, since broadcast content will qualify as audiovisual or cinematographic works, and broadcasters may invoke protection for these works under a variety of doctrines (such as “work made for hire” rules, or transfer of rights under film production agreements). In addition, unfair competition and criminal law also offer protection against signal pirates.

We realize that the existing protection may not be perfect, but if a treaty is to be concluded at the present time, extreme caution is needed, because the changes in this industry are occurring so fast that it seems extremely difficult to overcome certain definitional problems around the subject matter of protection and the delimitation of the group of right holders. We share the view that there’s a risk of either having an outdated treaty soon after being adopted or – if the definitions are broader – of having a treaty providing unintended rights to intermediaries other than the traditional broadcasters.

With this in mind, we would also like to recall that much of the content that broadcasters transmit is of cultural importance. In order to avoid creating new obstacles to the access to culture, knowledge and information, mandatory exceptions and limitations, that are not less enabling for users than the exceptions that apply to copyright, should be adopted. In addition, no rights should be given in works that are in the public domain or that are openly licensed.

Thank you.

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