Re: Publisher's association on DRM

Subject: Re: Publisher's association on DRM
From: Seth Johnson <seth.johnson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 12:18:26 -0400
For reference, here are articles 5, 18 and 19 of the WIPO
Performances and Phonograms Treaty.  It's one thing to cite
rights of attribution and integrity, but to couple the
integrity right with the DRM obligations does in fact
mandate support for DRM and takes the notion well beyond its
reasonable sense.  The only out is the distinctly disturbing
"without authorization" language that's included.  There is
also the fact that the integrity right is written as a right
"to object," which seems bizarre and which I have no ability
to interpret.

Seth Johnson

Article 5

Moral Rights of Performers

(1) Independently of a performer's economic rights, and even
after the transfer of those rights, the performer shall, as
regards his live aural performances or performances fixed in
phonograms, have the right to claim to be identified as the
performer of his performances, except where omission is
dictated by the manner of the use of the performance, and to
object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification
of his performances that would be prejudicial to his
reputation.
    
Article 18

Obligations concerning Technological Measures

Contracting Parties shall provide adequate legal protection
and effective legal remedies against the circumvention of
effective technological measures that are used by performers
or producers of phonograms in connection with the exercise
of their rights under this Treaty and that restrict acts, in
respect of their performances or phonograms, which are not
authorized by the performers or the producers of phonograms
concerned or permitted by law.

Article 19

Obligations concerning Rights Management Information

(1) Contracting Parties shall provide adequate and effective
legal remedies against any person knowingly performing any
of the following acts knowing, or with respect to civil
remedies having reasonable grounds to know, that it will
induce, enable, facilitate or conceal an infringement of any
right covered by this Treaty:

(i) to remove or alter any electronic rights management
information without authority;

(ii) to distribute, import for distribution, broadcast,
communicate or make available to the public, without
authority, performances, copies of fixed performances or
phonograms knowing that electronic rights management
information has been removed or altered without authority.

(2) As used in this Article, "rights management information"
means information which identifies the performer, the
performance of the performer, the producer of the phonogram,
the phonogram, the owner of any right in the performance or
phonogram, or information about the terms and conditions of
use of the performance or phonogram, and any numbers or
codes that represent such information, when any of these
items of information is attached to a copy of a fixed
performance or a phonogram or appears in connection with the
communication or making available of a fixed performance or
a phonogram to the public.16

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