America to US gov't: kill the Broadcast Treaty!

America to US gov't: kill the Broadcast Treaty!: "Cory Doctorow: An incredibly diverse coalition of high-powered public interest groups, industry associations, and corporations have signed an open letter to the US Patent and Trademark Office rejecting the 'Broadcast Treaty,' a US-led UN initiative that could do untold harm to artists, tech and telecoms companies, scholars, and people with disabilities. Under the Broadcast Treaty, fair use, Creative Commons and the public domain would be trumped by the 'broadcast right,' which would be owned by the broadcaster of works. If you got a copy of a work over the air or over the Web that copyright would let you use (because it was in the public domain, because it was factual, or even because the creator had granted you permission), you'd still need to seek permission from the 'caster,' who would get a 50-year monopoly over the re-use of copies of the works it transmitted. The proposal to extend this to the Web could put YouTube, Google Video, and innovative podcaster services out of business, by banning or restricting"