From 7 to 11 April 2025, the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) held its 46th session in Geneva, aiming to advance long-standing discussions and build the support needed among Member States to establish new international standards or other tools for enhanced global harmonisation. Progress within the SCCR has been slow for years, with some agenda items stagnating for decades.
This is especially true regarding a possible update to the protection granted to broadcasting organisations. Deep divisions persist, particularly over the scope of such protection, due to concerns about the creation of overlapping rights related to the content carried by broadcast signals. A similar deadlock exists around exceptions and limitations, as well as the proposed work plan to develop a binding international instrument in this area—an initiative still firmly opposed by some Member States who favour maintaining national flexibility and support non-binding, adaptable frameworks.
The Committee also discussed several other issues that could potentially become permanent items on the agenda. Among them, the proposal to harmonise public lending rights appears to have been definitively set aside. However, two other proposals remain under active consideration.
The first, focused primarily on the music sector, proposes a study on copyright in the digital age. Its goal is to expose the limitations of the 1996 Internet Treaties (WCT and WPPT) and to address growing concerns about unfair value distribution, particularly in the context of streaming. The second proposal calls for a study on the rights of audiovisual authors and their remuneration for the exploitation of their works. An initiative supported by FIA sought to expand this study to include audiovisual performers — who are part of the same creative ecosystem and often face similar challenges. Although this extension was backed by many Member States, no consensus was reached. The objective is to begin identifying and highlighting good practices, whether contractual or regulatory, that provide audiovisual performers with ongoing remuneration as their works are used.
The session also featured an informal exchange on artificial intelligence, following up on a similar discussion held in 2024, to which FIA had made a significant contribution. This time, the focus was on national legal frameworks and regulatory approaches that allow AI to evolve while respecting copyright. Various strategies were explored, including those of the European Union and Japan, both relying heavily on exceptions for text and data mining; the United States, where multiple lawsuits could shape the future scope of the ‘fair use’ doctrine; and Brazil, the only country to have adopted robust and coherent regulations requiring consent and compensation for the use of creators’ works in training datasets. Brazil also provides protections for individuals against the unauthorised use of their image and voice.
During the session, Google advocated for the unrestricted use of content in training AI, drawing a parallel with the development of search engines. This position was firmly challenged by FIA, which argued that facilitating access to content through search engines is fundamentally different from the unauthorised ingestion of protected data—including biometric data—for the purpose of generating synthetic content that may compete with human creators.
We also underscored the weaknesses of exception-based systems. Even when rights holders have the theoretical ability to opt out, enforcing this right is nearly impossible due to the tech industry’s lack of transparency and, in many cases, bad faith. We stressed the urgency of these concerns, pointing out that the unauthorised use of personal and creative data by technology companies raises issues that extend far beyond the traditional scope of copyright law.
Finally, we called on WIPO to take the lead in establishing a global standard that protects individuals from the systematic and unauthorised exploitation of their image, voice, and likeness by artificial intelligence.
