The WIPO Broadcasting Treaty: A Draft Forever?

Since 1998, the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights has been discussing a possible Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations. The draft treaty would offer international protection to broadcasting organizations against the unauthorized retransmission of their broadcasts and related uses. Despite many years of discussion, stern opposition, countless redrafts and political setbacks, the controversial treaty project has never been abandoned. A Second Revised Draft Text, which was published in 2023, is now on the Committee’s agenda. This chapter critically discusses the history, rationales, and substantive content of the draft WIPO Broadcasting Treaty.