The Hindu Business Line : WIPO calls on India to sign Internet treaties on copyright

GENEVA: The World Intellectual Organisation (WIPO) on Tuesday called on India to become a signatory to the two Internet treaties which will provide for global protection of the rights of copyright holders, performers and producers of phonograms.

The WIPO Copyrights Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, collectively termed as Internet Treaties, were negotiated in 1996 under the auspices of WIPO. But India is yet to sign them.

“India has got huge information, film and entertainment industries. For its own benefit, the country must become a signatory to the two treaties. It would ensure a strong protection about the use of creative works on the world wide web not only in that c ountry but also abroad,'' Director of Copyright Law at WIPO Jorgen Savy Blomqvist told PTI here.

With Internet, web piracy is also fast gaining grounds in the world. As Indian products generate big money in that country and in the overseas, signing the treaties would ensure that producers of creative works in India get their fair share of income the products generate abroad, the Director said.

It will provide an enormous boost to India's cultural and creative industries. Through digital networks, that country's music, art, literature, and folklore can reach new markets throughout the world, and be delivered directly to paying customers around the globe,'' he said. - PTI

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