Thanks to Thiru Balasubramaniam and Manon Ress of CPTech, we just got word that the Chair of the WIPO General Assembly, Ambassador Manalo, has suspended discussions on the broadcasters treaty. Ambassador Manalo has asked the Chair of the Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights (SCCR), Jukka Liedes of Finland, to hold informal consultations this afternoon to try and build a consensus. Given that this battle has been going on for eight years, that is one difficult task.
According to Thiru, the U.S. delegation vigorously opposed the scheduling of a diplomatic conference (DipCon) on the treaty, and even said that should the DipCon be delayed, it would not seek to add webcasting (or as it is known now, “netcasting”) to the discussions. That is a very, very big concession.
Here is a list of countries and their positions on the broadcasters treaty (thanks again to Thiru):
Yes:
European Communities (plus Romania and Bulgaria), Nicaragua, Mexico, Norway, Japan, Croatia (on behalf of regional group), Krygz,Ukraine, Azerbaijan, China, Russia, Singapore, Morocco, Algeria, Croatia (on behalf of itself), Former Yugoslave Republic of Macedonia, Kenya, Honduras, subject to conditions
No:
United States of America, India, Uruguay, Chile, Canada, Indonesia, South Africa, Venezuela
Unclear:
Nigeria (African Group), Pakistan, Iran
We will be keeping our eye on things as they develop – but for opponents of the treaty, these events are certainly welcome news.