IP Dragon Alert
The Chinese delegation has signed the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances ( 视听表演北京条约) on June 26, 2012, read the Chinese article here. It’s the first international intellectual property treaty that was “born” in China.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), who convened the Diplometic Conference, gave the following statistics:
– 156 member states; 6 intergovernmental organizations; 45 non-governmental organizations attended. According to WIPO 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 conference goes into effect if 30 countries have ratified the conference.
WIPO explains the difference between signatures and ratifications:
“Signature of the treaty constitutes a preliminary endorsement by demonstrating the state’s intent to examine the treaty domestically and consider ratification, though signing does not create a binding legal obligation to ratify.”
“Ratification or accession signifies an agreement to be legally bound by the terms of the treaty. Though accession has the same legal effect as ratification, the procedures differ. In the case of ratification, the state first signs and then ratifies the treaty. The procedure for accession has only one step and is therefore not preceded by an act of signature.”
Is this an actor or policy maker?
Some skeptics might think that Liu Qi, a Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee is a good actor: “The Treaty is the pride of Beijing. Respect for IP is a must. We will grasp this opportunity to further strengthen intellectual property and build Beijing as the first city of IP.” Who knows. Fact is that China has showed its commitment to multilarism and WIPO showed that it can still be relevant. Read the WIPO press release here.
Read more about the creation and the substantial provisions of the treaty here.
Read the final text of the Audiovisual Performances Treaty here (English) and here (Chinese).
Danny Friedmann
IP Dragon Update: Chenwei Zhang