Examination of the WCT - Revision history

Tfisher: /* WIPO Copyright Treaty */

2009-08-25T13:01:43Z

WIPO Copyright Treaty

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:01, 25 August 2009
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	~~== WIPO Copyright Treaty ==~~

	The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement accepted under the Berne Convention that entered into force on March 6, 2002. It is the first international treaty that provides copyright protection to computer programs and to databases (compilations of data or other material). According to the WCT, computer programs are protected as literary works regardless of their mode or form of their expression, whereas databases have to constitute an intellectual creation by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents. This means that the material of the databases have to be selected or arranged in an original way in order for the database to be protected by the treaty.		The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement accepted under the Berne Convention that entered into force on March 6, 2002. It is the first international treaty that provides copyright protection to computer programs and to databases (compilations of data or other material). According to the WCT, computer programs are protected as literary works regardless of their mode or form of their expression, whereas databases have to constitute an intellectual creation by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents. This means that the material of the databases have to be selected or arranged in an original way in order for the database to be protected by the treaty.

Tfisher: /* WIPO Copyright Treaty */

2009-08-25T13:01:15Z

WIPO Copyright Treaty

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:01, 25 August 2009
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	The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement accepted under the Berne Convention that entered into force on March 6, 2002. It is the first international treaty that provides copyright protection to computer programs and to databases (compilations of data or other material). According to the WCT, computer programs are protected as literary works regardless of their mode or form of their expression, whereas databases have to constitute an intellectual creation by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents. This means that the material of the databases have to be selected or arranged in an original way in order for the database to be protected by the treaty.		The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement accepted under the Berne Convention that entered into force on March 6, 2002. It is the first international treaty that provides copyright protection to computer programs and to databases (compilations of data or other material). According to the WCT, computer programs are protected as literary works regardless of their mode or form of their expression, whereas databases have to constitute an intellectual creation by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents. This means that the material of the databases have to be selected or arranged in an original way in order for the database to be protected by the treaty.

	The WCT further provides that the contracting countries ~~have to~~ prohibit ~~efficiently in their dominion~~ the circumvention of technological measures ~~set~~ by ~~the authors for their protection~~ works~~, such as decryption, as well as measures against~~ the unauthorized modification of ~~the so called “rights~~ management information”~~. The rights management information is certain~~ data that identify works or their authors, and that necessary for the management of their rights.		The WCT further provides that the contracting countries must prohibit both the circumvention of technological measures used by copyright holders to protect works and the unauthorized modification of "rights management information” -- in other words, data that identify works or their authors, and that are necessary for the management of their rights.

	~~Moreover~~, the WCT provides ~~to the~~ authors rights~~, which~~ they ~~may not~~ have under the Berne Convention alone~~. More specifically authors have under the WCT~~ (1) the right ~~of distribution~~, (2) the right ~~of rental~~, and (3) the right ~~of communication~~ to the public~~. Ofcourse these rights are subjected to limitations and exceptions, as these are defined by the WCT~~.		In addition, the WCT provides authors some important rights in addition to those they have under the Berne Convention alone: (1) the exclusive right to distribute their works, (2) the exclusive right to rent their works (a right that will be discussed in more detail in Module 4), and (3) the exclusive right to communicate their works to the public.

	~~The~~ WCT ~~has~~ been heavily criticized as being overbroad; the circumvention of technical protection measures ~~is prohibited,~~ even where such circumvention is used ~~to pursue legal and~~ fair ~~use rights~~. ~~Besides~~, the WCT ~~does not~~ take into account the differing stages of economic ~~development~~ and ~~knowledge industry~~ among its ~~members and thus applies a 'one size fits all' standard to both developing and developed~~ countries~~, instead of differentiating among them~~.		Some provisions of the WCT have been heavily criticized as being overbroad -- for example, the requirement that member countries prohibit the circumvention of technical protection measures even where such circumvention is used for purposes that would be considered "fair" or otherwise lawful under general copyright principles. In addition, the WCT has been faulted for its failure to take into account the differing stages of economic and cultural among its member countries.

	Note that the WCT is open only to Members of WIPO and to the European Community. ~~Therefore only those countries can access~~ the ~~WCT without any modification of the original agreements. The~~ Assembly constituted by the Treaty may decide to ~~admit~~ other intergovernmental organizations to become ~~party~~ to the ~~WCT~~.		Note that the WCT is open only to Members of WIPO and to the European Community. However, the Assembly constituted by the Treaty may decide to allow other intergovernmental organizations to become parties to the treaty.

Mdulong: New page: == WIPO Copyright Treaty == The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement accepted under the Berne Convention that entered into force on March 6, 2002. It is the first internatio...

2009-04-28T11:30:15Z

New page: == WIPO Copyright Treaty == The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement accepted under the Berne Convention that entered into force on March 6, 2002. It is the first internatio...

New page

== WIPO Copyright Treaty ==

The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement accepted under the Berne Convention that entered into force on March 6, 2002. It is the first international treaty that provides copyright protection to computer programs and to databases (compilations of data or other material). According to the WCT, computer programs are protected as literary works regardless of their mode or form of their expression, whereas databases have to constitute an intellectual creation by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents. This means that the material of the databases have to be selected or arranged in an original way in order for the database to be protected by the treaty.

The WCT further provides that the contracting countries have to prohibit efficiently in their dominion the circumvention of technological measures set by the authors for their protection works, such as decryption, as well as measures against the unauthorized modification of the so called “rights management information”. The rights management information is certain data that identify works or their authors, and that necessary for the management of their rights.

Moreover, the WCT provides to the authors rights, which they may not have under the Berne Convention alone. More specifically authors have under the WCT (1) the right of distribution, (2) the right of rental, and (3) the right of communication to the public. Ofcourse these rights are subjected to limitations and exceptions, as these are defined by the WCT.

The WCT has been heavily criticized as being overbroad; the circumvention of technical protection measures is prohibited, even where such circumvention is used to pursue legal and fair use rights. Besides, the WCT does not take into account the differing stages of economic development and knowledge industry among its members and thus applies a 'one size fits all' standard to both developing and developed countries, instead of differentiating among them.

Note that the WCT is open only to Members of WIPO and to the European Community. Therefore only those countries can access the WCT without any modification of the original agreements. The Assembly constituted by the Treaty may decide to admit other intergovernmental organizations to become party to the WCT.