[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 202 (Thursday, October 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54159-54160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26511]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office


Request for Comments on the Chairman's Text of the Diplomatic 
Conference on Certain Copyright and Neighboring Rights Questions, To Be 
Held in Geneva From December 2 to 20, 1996

AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: As the Administration prepares for the Diplomatic Conference 
on Certain Copyright and Neighboring Rights Questions, to be held in 
Geneva from December 2 to 20, 1996, we invite interested parties to 
submit written comments on the Chairman's text and to attend a public 
briefing to discuss the Chairman's text of the Diplomatic Conference. 
During the briefing, Jukka Liedes, Chairman of the Committee of 
Experts, will discuss the text and will be available to answer 
questions.

DATES: The briefing will be held on November 12, 1996, from 1 p.m. to 5 
p.m.
    Written comments on the Chairman's text are due on or before 
November 22, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The briefing will be held in Marriott's Crystal Forum, a 
part of the Crystal City Marriott Hotel located in The Underground, 
1999 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia.
    A transcript of the meeting will be made available for public 
inspection in room 902 of Crystal Park Two, 2121 Crystal Drive, 
Arlington, Virginia. The transcript will also be made available through 
the Patent and Trademark Office's home page, which is located at 
www.uspto.gov.
    Written comments should be submitted to the Commissioner of Patents 
and Trademarks, Box 4, Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, D.C. 
20231, marked to the attention of Ms. Carmen Guzman Lowrey, Associate 
Commissioner for Governmental and International Affairs. Written 
comments may also be submitted electronically by sending them to Mr. 
Keith Kupferschmid at [email protected].
    All written comments received will be made available for public 
inspection in room 902 of Crystal Park Two, 2121 Crystal Drive, 
Arlington, Virginia.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Keith M. Kupferschmid by telephone 
at (703) 305-9300, by facsimile at (703) 305-8885, by electronic mail 
at [email protected] or by mail marked to his attention and addressed 
to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Box 4, Patent and 
Trademark Office, Washington, D.C. 20231. It is not necessary for 
interested parties to contact the PTO to request to attend the 
briefing.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States is committed to making 
progress in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) toward 
improving international protection for works protected by copyright and 
neighboring rights. We want to build upon the international 
intellectual property norms that were set in the Agreement on Trade-
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs). This is essential, 
especially in view of the need to deal with the intellectual property 
issues associated with the Global Information Infrastructure (GII). To 
accomplish this goal, the members of WIPO, with the leadership of the 
United States, are working to establish three new international 
agreements, commonly referred to as--
     A Protocol to the Berne Convention for the Protection of 
Literary and Artistic Works, which would modernize the Berne Convention 
to take into account new forms of expression and new uses of 
copyrighted works that have evolved due to technological developments 
since the Berne Convention's most recent revision in 1971.
     A New Instrument for the Protection of Performers and 
Producers of Phonograms, which would improve international standards of 
protection for sound recordings, and protect the rights of certain 
performers in respect of their live performances.
     A Treaty for the Sui Generis Protection of Databases, 
which would ensure adequate incentives to invest in creating databases, 
through a new type of protection that would safeguard databases against 
destruction of their commercial value.
    These agreements would provide the levels of protection for both 
copyright and neighboring rights that are critical to the development 
of the commercial potential of the GII.
    Much progress has been made in the negotiations in WIPO through the 
submission of treaty proposals by the United States and other 
countries. Based on these submissions and the views expressed in 
meetings of the Committee of Experts, the Chairman of the Committee of 
Experts has prepared three draft treaties which address digital and 
conventional copyright issues. These proposed treaties will be taken up 
at a Diplomatic Conference on Certain Copyright and Neighboring Rights 
Issues to be convened December 2-20, in Geneva at WIPO headquarters.

[[Page 54160]]

    As the Administration prepares for the Diplomatic Conference, we 
invite interested parties to submit written comments on the Chairman's 
text of the draft treaties. These comments should be received by the 
PTO no later than November 22, 1996.
    In addition, to facilitate a better understanding of the text of 
the draft treaties, the PTO will hold a briefing to discuss them. 
During the briefing, Jukka Liedes, Chairman of the Committee of 
Experts, will discuss the text and will be available to answer 
questions.
    Copies of the draft treaties and other information relevant to the 
Diplomatic Conference can be found at the PTO's home page, located at 
www.uspto.gov. Copies of the draft treaties will also be available at 
the briefing and upon request.

    Dated: October 10, 1996.
Bruce A. Lehman,
Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and 
Trademarks.
[FR Doc. 96-26511 Filed 10-16-96; 8:45 am]
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