International legal protection of related rights of broadcasting organisations

Abstract

The international protection of the rights of radio broadcasting organisations to the programmes they create and broadcast began with the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations, done in Rome on 26 October 1961 (the Rome Convention). The Rome Convention establishesthe general principles of legal protection of the rights of radio broadcasting organisations and establishes property rights that allow them to influence the use of programmes by third parties. On 21 May 1974, the Convention on the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite (the Brussels Satellite Convention) was adopted in Brussels. This actdoes not contain any provisions on the rights of broadcasting organisations and is an international treaty in the field of public international law rather than private international law. On 15 April 1994, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) was adopted. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that it is the first international act thatcombines provisions on the legal protection of various intellectual property rights: copyright and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, inventions, etc. In terms of the related rights of radio broadcasting organisations, the TRIPS Agreement is based on the provisions of the Rome Convention and does not provide for any other related rights.Thus, today, the related rights of radio broadcasting organisations at the international level comply with the standards of 1961. This does not take into account modern broadcasting and information transmission technologies, and therefore does not sufficiently protect the interests of radio broadcasting organisations. Since the late 90s, a new international treaty on the protection of the rights of broadcasting organisations has been developed under the auspices of WIPO. The adoption of this treaty is an urgent need to strengthen the international system of protection of the rights of radio broadcasting organisations.