Statement of India on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Group Statement on Agenda Item 11 – Report on the Standing Committee on Copyrights and related rights, delivered by Dr. Sumit Seth during WIPO GA 2016

India has the honor to deliver this position statement on behalf of the Asia and the Pacific Group

Mr. Chair,
The SCCR is an important committee of WIPO dealing with three issues of critical importance to member states namely protection of broadcasting organizations; limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives and exceptions and limitations for educational and research institutions and for persons with other disabilities.
These three issues are of great importance to our group. Going by the discussions at the 31st  and 32nd session of SCCR, it would not be wrong to say that SCCR is facing some difficulties in finding agreement on how to proceed in its work on these agenda items. Our group believes that these issues have not received the equal level of commitment and understanding commensurate to their importance based on the differential socio-economic development of the Member States. Inclusiveness and mutual understanding of each other's’ priorities is essential for the progress.

In this spirit of multilateralism, Asia and the Pacific Group reaffirms its commitment to engage constructively in negotiating a mutually acceptable outcome on all three issues before the committee

Mr. Chair,
Members of the group would like to see the finalization of a balanced treaty on the protection of broadcasting organizations, based on the mandate of the 2007 General Assembly to provide protection on the signal based approach for cablecasting and broadcasting organizations in the traditional sense.

Mr. Chair,

For our Group, exceptions and limitations are of critical importance for individuals as well as collective development of enlightened societies. However, there is no denying the fact that some divergence on how exceptions and limitations should be approached exists among member states.

Exceptions and limitations have an important role to play in the attainment of the right to education and the access to knowledge, actualization of which in many developing countries is hampered due to lack of access to relevant educational and research material.

It is unfortunate that absence of adequate will to discuss and develop the two exceptions and limitations before this committee has resulted in a stalemate on all these three important issues.

With these words I would like to thank