Two new treaties were concluded in 1996 at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). The WCT protects literary and artistic works such as books, music, films, and paintings. The WPPT protects the rights of producers of sound recordings, as well as the rights of performers whose performances are fixed in sound recordings.
The purpose of these treaties is to update the international copyright regime with regard to the challenges of new digital technologies, especially the Internet. Therefore, the treaties are sometimes referred to as the “Internet treaties.”
In 2000, the European Community and its Member States decided to ratify the Internet treaties together. In 2001 the Directive on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society (2001/29/EC) was adopted. One purpose of this directive was to transpose the main obligations arising from the WIPO Internet treaties into Community law.
As all Member States now have transposed the directive into their national laws, the European Union and its Member States are ready to ratify the WIPO Treaties. A ceremony will be held in connection with today’s meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights in Geneva. The Swedish Presidency of the European Union will be represented by Ambassador Hans Dahlgren.
Accredited press to the U.N. in Geneva is hereby invited to the Ratification Ceremony in the WIPO building, the 14th December, 18h00-18h30 in the presence of WIPO Director General Dr Francis Gurry and EU Heads of Missions.