Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances

SUMMARY OF:

Decision 2013/275/EU on the signing, on behalf of the EU, of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances

Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DECISION?

The decision approves the signing of the WIPO Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances (the Beijing Treaty) on behalf of the EU, subject to its being officially concluded.

The treaty modernises intellectual rights protection for singers, musicians, dancers and actors in audiovisual performances in film and television and also includes musicians’ performances on DVD or other audiovisual platforms.

It aims to have a positive effect on all signatories, including developing and developed countries, in relation to economic development, improved status of audiovisual performers and cultural diversity.

KEY POINTS

The treaty grants performers economic rights in live and recorded performances, as well as certain moral rights updating the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations (1961) for the digital era and complementing the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).

Recorded performances

The treaty grants performers 4 kinds of economic rights for their performances fixed (recorded) in audiovisual formats, such as video recordings:

reproduction: the right to authorise direct or indirect reproduction of the fixation of the performance in any manner or form;
distribution: the right to authorise the sale of originals or copies of the fixation of the performance;
rental: the right to authorise public rentals of originals or copies of the fixation of the performance; and
making available: the right to authorise giving access to fixation of performances wherever and whenever the consumer chooses, wired or wirelessly, in particular including on-demand or interactively through the internet.

Live performances

Moreover, the treaty grants performers 3 kinds of economic rights for unfixed (live) performances:

right of broadcasting;
right of communication to the public;
right of fixation.

Moral rights

The treaty grants the performer the right to be identified as the performer, and the right to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification to the recorded or broadcast material that would be prejudicial to their reputation.

Transfer of rights

Parties may state in their laws that once a performer has consented to a performance being recorded (audiovisual fixation), exclusive rights are transferred to the recording’s producer (unless a contract between the performer and producer states otherwise). Independently of this, national laws or other agreements may give the performer the right to receive royalties or fair payments for any use of the performance under the treaty.

Exceptions, enforcement and remedies

The treaty allows for limitations and exceptions provided that they comply with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Contracting parties may add new exceptions and limitations appropriate to the digital environment if similar conditions are met. The treaty applies to existing and new recorded material, but parties may decide that existing material from other countries is not protected under the treaty, in which case the countries concerned are entitled to act reciprocally.

Parties to the treaty must provide for legal remedies against the bypassing of any digital encryption used by performers to protect their rights, and against the removal or altering of information (such as performer credit) necessary for rights management, including licensing and distribution of royalties.

Parties must provide for enforcement procedures and remedies to prevent and deter infringements to the treaty.

The treaty sets up an Assembly of the Contracting Parties to maintain and develop the treaty.

FROM WHEN DOES THE DECISION APPLY?

The decision was signed on 10 June 2013. It will enter into force 3 months after 30 eligible parties to the treaty have ratified the treaty.

BACKGROUND