Minister Bruton signs the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances on behalf of the EU and Ireland
19th June 2013
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD today [Wednesday] signed the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances on behalf of the EU at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva.
Under the Beijing Treaty, the rights of performers such as singers, musicians, actors and dancers in an audiovisual work will be strengthened in the online and offline environment and, when their performances are used, to be fairly remunerated. The main benefit of the new Treaty will be to ensure that this level of protection is recognized at international level and that European performers enjoy rights, and are fairly remunerated, when audiovisual works containing their performances are exploited in third countries and vice versa.
At the signing, the Minister said "I am delighted to sign the Beijing Treaty on behalf of the EU. It is a significant step forward in granting performers international protection for their works when included in audiovisual form and performed internationally among contracting States to the Treaty. Most importantly, it will assist performers to get paid when their works are used in this way".
The Treaty was concluded in Beijing in June 2012 and remains open for signature at WIPO until 24 June 2013, although States can subsequently accede to the Treaty after that date. Following approval by Government, Minister Bruton took the opportunity also to sign the Treaty on behalf of Ireland. Ireland joins a number of EU Member States that have already or will, before the 24th June, sign the Treaty.
The Minister thanked all those who worked hard to bring the Treaty to fruition and congratulated the World Intellectual Property Organisation for the initiative shown in this area. He expressed the hope that the Treaty would garner wide support in terms of accession to the Treaty by WIPO-contracting States and enter into force as soon as possible.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Singers, musicians, dancers and actors have enjoyed limited international protection for their performances when these performances are incorporated in an audiovisual work e.g. a film, a TV programme under the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations adopted in 1961. Under the Beijing Treaty, it will be possible for these performers to decide when to make their performances available in the online or offline environment and, when their performances are used, to be fairly remunerated. The main benefit of the new Treaty will be to ensure that this level of protection is recognized at international level and that European performers enjoy rights, and are fairly remunerated, when audiovisual works containing their performances are exploited in third countries and vice versa.
A World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Diplomatic Conference on the protection of audiovisual performances took place in Geneva in December 2000 for the purpose of adopting a new instrument for the protection of audiovisual performances. Agreement did not prove possible on the entire text of the Treaty at that point
In June 2011 a Diplomatic Conference was reconvened in Beijing in June 2012. It was successful in reaching agreement and the Final Act of the Treaty was signed by 122 countries, including Ireland.
The Beijing Treaty is a significant step forward in the international protection of copyright and related rights by ensuring that every country who becomes a party to the Treaty treats performers who are nationals of another country in the same way as it treats its own nationals with respect to the rights granted in the Treaty. Signature of the Treaty by Ireland will, as is normal, be subject to ratification and therefore signature alone will not impose on the State any obligations under the treaty.
At national level, Ireland has already provided under the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000, protection for performers in audiovisual performances therefore, it not envisaged that the Treaty will mean any change to the status quo in respect of the protection of audiovisual performers in Ireland.