The Union Cabinet on Wednesday (July 4th, 2018) approved India’s accession to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) that extends the copyright coverage to the internet and digital spheres.
The accession enables the creative right holders to use technical tools to protect their work and safeguard information globally.
IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad briefing the reporters said that “These treaties will help India enable creative right-holders to enjoy the fruit of their labour, through international copyright system that can be used to secure a return on the investment made in production and distributing creative work.”
“The treaties will also facilitate international protection rights holder by providing them with the level playing field in other countries as India already extends protection to foreign works through the International Copyright order,” he added.
The WIPO Copyright Treaty came into force on March 6th, 2002 and has been adopted by 96 contracting parties. It is a special agreement under Berne Convention for protection of literary and artistic works. It consists of provisions to extend the protection of copyrights to the digital environment.
The accession to the WIPO treaties would exponentially increase the business growth and contribute to the development of a vibrant creative economy and cultural landscape.
