New Delhi: The Union Cabinet’s approval for accession to the WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996 (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonogram Treaty, 1996 (WPPT) is a positive step towards achieving one of the main objectives of the National IPR Policy of acceding to multilateral treaties which are in India’s interest.
Narendra Sabharwal, Chair, IPR Committee of FICCI said, “We welcome India’s accession to the treaties as this would ensure better protection to the country’s copyright holders globally in the digital era and provide them with a level playing field in other countries. The empowering of right owners in their dealings with digital platforms and extending the protection of copyrights to the digital environment, which is increasingly becoming the marketplace of the future, provide further justification for joining these treaties.”
He also emphasized that by enabling the creators of copyright to enjoy the fruits of their labour and to secure a fair return on the investment made in the production and distribution of their works, this ratification will be a great confidence booster for the creative industry. It will instil optimism among the creators, users, investors and spur business growth in the creative economy.
India’s accession to the treaties would facilitate its fight against the menace of online piracy by enabling recourse to legal remedies by authors, performers and producers of phonograms against circumvention of technological measures to protect their works and safeguard information about their use.
