Intellectual property, WIPO Treaties: copyright WCT and neihbouring rights WPPT, phonograms

The committee adopted the report by Charlotte CEDERSCHIÖLD (EPP/ED, S) recommending that Parliament give its assent to the Commission proposal on the approval, on behalf of the EC, of the WIPO Treaties on Copyright and on Performances and Phonograms. Despite reservations about various provisions in the WIPO Treaties, which the committee felt were unclear and needed improving, the report felt that the Treaties represented significant progress in the protection of copyright and related rights. It particularly welcomed the fact that the Treaties took account, for the first time, of new technologies and the possibilities and risks associated with them (in particular the internet) and sought appropriate solutions. It felt that the Community's ratification of the Treaties would provide an incentive for potential applicant countries to accede to the Treaties also , while the Community's failure to accede to the Treaties would set a negative example for those countries. Despite the shortcomings of the Treaties, therefore, the committee took the view that they represented an improvement by comparison with the current legal situation and that it was better to take a step in the right direction than to do nothing and merely wait on events. �