Page 25 deals with international copyright forums. Some of them deal solely with copyright, others deal with copyright and education sciences, and others still are of a very commercial nature.
The World Intellectual Property Organization only deals with copyright. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization deals with access issues. It has also dealt with the Convention on the Prevention and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This organization has occasional indirect dealings with copyright matters.
Regarding commercial agreements, the World Trade Organization has the WTO agreement on those aspects of intellectual property rights that have to do with trade, the TRIPS contains a chapter aimed specifically at intellectual property. Chapter 17 of the North American Free Trade Agreement deals with intellectual property and more specifically with copyright. Finally, the free trade agreement between Canada and the United States that was concluded in 1989 sets out obligations for rebroadcasting.
Page 26 deals with international copyright norms. These are based on the fundamental principle whereby copyright is dealt with on a national basis, whereby foreigners can enjoy the protection of Canadian law pursuant to our international commitments. Likewise, Canadians whose works, audio recordings and performances are used in foreign countries can benefit from protection outside Canadian borders.
Page 30 deals with the international agreements of which Canada is a member. It is very important to emphasize the word “member”, because these conventions are binding for Canada, I mean the conventions that Canada has already implemented, such as the Berne Convention, the Rome Convention, the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement, and more recently, the WTO Agreement on TRIPS.
Page 32 mentions various international agreements to which Canada is a signatory. The word “signatory” means that the Canadian government is not bound by these agreements. Canada signed these conventions because it agreed with their underlying principles, but has not yet taken any steps to become a member of these conventions. To do this, the Copyright Act would have to be amended.
Page 34 goes into further detail about one of the international conventions that I mentioned earlier: the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. This convention is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization and already has 162 members. It is very important in the copyright field, because it not only contains a broad list of exclusive rights granted to authors, but it also includes obligations regarding moral rights as well as a three-step test.
The three-step test is a provision of the Berne Convention that allows a member state to restrict the scope of certain activities or exclusive rights under certain conditions. This is called a three-step test because there are three criteria to be met. The member state must only use exception or restriction in special cases.
Also, it cannot unjustifiably impede the marketing of the work. It also cannot cause prejudice to the rights holder. These three conditions must be fulfilled before the government can oppose the exclusive rights prescribed by the convention.
The Rome Convention is a convention on neighbouring rights. A little earlier, my colleague Albert talked about the rights of artists, sound recorders and broadcasters. The Rome Convention is a convention which frames the protection these three beneficiaries receive. The convention is administered by three international organizations: the World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO, UNESCO and the International Labour Organization, or ILO.
It should be noted that the United States is not a member of this convention. It's a convention which grants rights to the three beneficiaries mentioned a little earlier, but more limited rights in certain cases. There are no moral rights, there is no three-step test, but there is a fairly exhaustive list of exceptions which can be taken into account under this convention.
Let's move on to page 32. You can see the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement, which was signed in 1988. This agreement established minimum standards for cable retransmission. Following this agreement, Canada amended its own legislation to create the famous mandatory licensing system my colleague Albert Cloutier talked about a little earlier. You should also know that this agreement contains a cultural exemption for cultural industries.
Then, there was NAFTA, signed by the United States, Mexico and Canada. Again, this agreement sets minimum levels. In fact, the minimum levels of copyright protection were largely based on the Berne Standards. The agreement also includes a dispute settlement mechanism, which means that if one of the three countries does not respect its obligations, one of the other countries can lodge an appeal before a group of experts who would have to decide whether the country in question did or did not respect its international obligations. As well, the agreement includes a cultural exemption for cultural industries. No complaint has ever been lodged to date.
Further, the World Trade Organization has implemented paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and public health. This agreement, yet again, established minimum levels. I'm insisting on using the expression "minimum levels" because this means it would be possible for a member State to go beyond the obligations set out in the convention, but each country must, at the very least, respect these thresholds. Within the framework of this agreement, new standards had been introduced for computer programs. It was the first time that an international convention specified that a computer program was protected under the Copyright Act. Again, a three-step test and a dispute settlement mechanism were also established. You should know that, until today, only one complaint was made to the WTO regarding copyright, and it was a case which pitted the European Union against the United States.
Let's now turn to the WIPO Treaty on copyright, or the WCT. This treaty came into effect in 1996 and is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Today, 60 countries are members of the treaty. Canada is a signatory, but not a member. This treaty supplements the Berne Convention. The WCT represents a special arrangement within the meaning of the Berne Convention, and it completes the Berne Convention to ensure that the Internet and any use made of digital works are framed and subject to international minimum standards.
Lastly, there is the 1996 WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty which affects sound recording producers. That treaty was also signed in 1996. There are 58 signatory countries including Canada. At the outset, this treaty was to provide economic rights so as to address new technologies and all the digital issues. It also provides for a three-step test.
Mr. Chairman, that completes our technical presentation. We will be pleased to answer certain questions.