FIA Executive Committee meeting in Sydney

The 2005 annual meeting of the FIA Executive Committee was held in Sydney, Australia. Delegates extensively discussed institutional matters and, in particular, the revision of the FIA subscription system. This is a complex issue, as it is must balance the unequal revenues of our members with the need to grant an operational budget to the Federation. The Executive decided that further consultation on this matter is necessary, with the help of the Presidium. The Secretariat’s action priorities for 2006 shall be intellectual property and WIPO, training and development, communication as well as health and safety in the workplace. The Executive Committee also focused on Peer-to-Peer and supported a gradual approach to the issue, fostering – among other things – format harmonisation, consumers’ education, and the establishment of efficient legal distribution systems. In particular, the Committee did not express support to initiatives aiming to criminalise network users indiscriminately, nor to those aiming to legalise Peer-to-Peer networks on the basis of a legal licence. A motion in favour of Australian workers facing an unprecedented bash of industrial relations in the country led by Prime Minister John Howard was approved by acclaim. The next FIA Executive Committee will meet in Berlin, from 16 to 17 September 2006.

FIA Executive Committee motion