On Tuesday, 30 September 2014, the Secretariat handed out the following text:
Matters relating to the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) Agenda item 15 Decision Paragraph
The WIPO General Assembly
(i) took note of the information contained in document WO/GA/46/5; and
(ii) took note of the statements made by delegations at the 46th session of the WIPO General Assembly in 2014.
During late night discussions on 30 September 2014, Kenya, on behalf of the African Group, proposed the insertion of a third decision paragraph:
Directed the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) to continue its work regarding the issues of protection of broadcasting organizations, limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives, and limitations and exceptions for educational and research institutions and persons with other disabilities.
The Central European and Baltic States Group (coordinated by the Czech Republic), Group B (coordinated by Japan) and Italy (representing the European Union) noted that this paragraph was the subject of intense debate during the informals. They intimated that the impasse on this decision point resulted in plenary resuming at 8 PM instead of 4 PM. These three groups insisted that the language proposed by the African Group end after the phrase “continue its work.” Iran and Brazil reiterated their support for the African Group proposal.
Brazil proposed that the WIPO General Assembly in 2014 reproduce the decision reached by the WIPO General Assembly in 2013 (which preserved the 2012 General Assembly mandate on copyright limitations and exceptions). The 2012 General Assembly mandate contained the following provisions:
19. The Committee agreed to recommend to the WIPO General Assembly that the SCCR continue discussion to work towards an appropriate international legal instrument or instruments (whether model law, joint recommendation, treaty and/or other forms), with the target to submit recommendations on limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives to the General Assembly by the 28th session of the SCCR.
Chile, Uruguay and Mexico supported Brazil’s proposition.
Egypt underscored the importance of copyright limitations and exceptions for its public policy goals and noted that the endeavors to weaken the 2012 General Assembly mandate on copyright limitations and exceptions would undermine the integrity of the organization.
Ultimately, WIPO’s membership could not reach consensus on the SCCR decision point. Some commentators made the observation that “no deal is better than a bad deal.”