Cheer for China as performers take the limelight

Something for performers to make
a song and dance about?

This weblog has received in the past year or so a veritable barrage of emails from readers, drawn from the community of performers, along the lines of "what about us, then? Why are we always being so taken for granted and neglected?" Well, here's something to cheer them up.  Today the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has issued a media release that breaks the [rather expected] news of a new international treaty that is addressed specifically at the needs  -- or at least at the perceived needs -- of the performers.  According to document PR/2012/714:

"The diplomatic conference to finalize a new treaty for audiovisual performers was successfully concluded on June 26, 2012 as negotiators from WIPO’s member states signed the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances– so-named in recognition of the city that hosted the final round of negotiations. The new treaty brings audiovisual performers into the fold of the international copyright framework in a comprehensive way, for the first time. ...

The President’s gavel brought an end to over 12 years of negotiations held under WIPO auspices. Mr. Gurry hailed this major development in the history of international copyright as a success of the multilateral system. “The conclusion of the Beijing Treaty is an important milestone toward closing the gap in the international rights system for audiovisual performers and reflects the collaborative nature of the multilateral process,” Mr. Gurry said. He noted that “the international copyright framework will no longer discriminate against one set of performers.”

... The Diplomatic Conference was attended by 156 member states, 6 intergovernmental organizations and 45 non-governmental organizations. This is the highest level of participation ever at a WIPO Diplomatic Conference. 122 countries signed the Final Act of the treaty, and 48 countries have signed the treaty itself.

... The treaty will enter into force once it has been ratified by 30 eligible parties, including countries or certain intergovernmental organizations.

... Most commonly, countries that support a treaty sign shortly after it has been adopted. They then ratify the treaty when all of their domestically required legal procedures have been fulfilled. Other states may begin with the domestic approval process and accede to the treaty once their domestic procedures have been completed, without signing the treaty first".

The 1709 Blog can tell you that the Beijing Treaty -- which you can read in full here -- consists of 30 Articles. The blog is sure it will be carrying some commentary once the text has been read and digested.