Podcasters Unite To Resist WIPO

In Geneva tomorrow, Gwen Hinze from EFF is presenting a joint statement from podcasters from around the world. This piece of internet history is an attempt to make sure that the development of the Broadcast Treaty into internet broadcast/netcast/webcast does not wipe out grassroots podcasting.

UKPA (UK Podcasters Association) has been working for months with the Irish PodRepBod, the German Podcastverband, the Open Rights Group in the UK and the EFF in the US to resist aspects of the Broadcast Treaty, which many podcasters, podcast users and a growing number of politicians feel are inimical to the healthy development of grassroots new media culture. The issues are about copyright, and the ongoing ownership of content.

Many podcasters fear that the Treaty is giving broadcasters the upper hand when it comes to rights, and creative people everywhere are becoming wary of blanket licenses which remove their rights in the small print - YouTube and MySpace have recently attracted widespread criticism and some legal action.

Activists are also pushing for recognition of Creative Commons licenses in the Treaty - millons of people who self-publish, webcast, and podcast use these licenses for their content; CC is a widely understood and established system which must be respected.

The campaign has unified podcasters globally, particularly in the UK, Eire, Germany, and the US, in a common cause, to influence the outcome of this looming - and binding - international legislation.