WIPO postpones decision on Pirate Parties International observer membership

In the current Geneva talks the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) discussed our application for permanent observer membership and surprisingly postponed the decision to 2013, even though the Director General recommended[1] to accept our application.

Denis Simonet, member of the PPI board, had handed in the application in early May. The matter is whether to include the PPI in the list of international NGOs, which would allow pirates to attend the meetings of the Assemblies as an observer. Above that, the PPI could "attend meetings of committees, working groups, or other bodies subsidiary to the Assemblies, as an observer, if their subject matter seems to be of direct interest". PPI fulfills all the requirements. Nevertheless doubts came up whether we are eligible to become an observer member because our members are political parties. For this reason the decision was postponed.

Gregory Engels, Co-Chairman, concludes: "The pirate movement is spreading rapidly around the globe, with parties now in over 60 countries. I am concerned that the WIPO is not interested in the dialog with this part of the civil society that thinks that the time for a massive reform of the copyright systems has come."

On the WIPO assembly in Geneva representatives from 185 countries gather to discuss the actual developments around intangible assets. WIPO is a specialized agency of the UN and administers 24 international treaties, as in the Berne Convention [2] and the Copyright Treaty [3]. Pirate Parties worldwide propagate the need for reflections on the outdated legal definitions of author rights and want to modernize laws to fit the new needs of the information society.

Denis Simonet: "To become a WIPO observer member is an important step for the pirate movement, as it affords us an opportunity to explain our concerns regarding author rights at the right place. We aim to be an important stakeholder in the debate."

General information
The Pirate Parties international is the international umbrella organization of the Pirate Parties movement. It was founded in Brussels in 2010 and unites 28 parties around the globe. For further information please consult http://www.pp-international.net or contact us 


Contact
Pirate Parties International
Gregory Engels
Co-Chairman
Tel. +49 172 8534491
E-Mail: press@pp-international.net


[1] http://wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/govbody/en/a_50/a_50_2.pdf
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WIPO_Copyright_Treaty