E sccr/21/2 Original: English date: August , 2010 Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights Twenty First Session Geneva, November to 12, 2010

Audiences/Consumers/Users

60 This stakeholder group includes members of the public who access media for information and entertainment, and organizations such as libraries and educational institutions that acquire content for public use. This group is interested in issues of price, choice, and quality. Its members share common interests that prices are reasonable, that a wide range of domestic materials from which to choose is available, that materials not available domestically can be accessed by other means to increase choice, that a continual stream of new creative content is available, and that the content is of good quality, however defined.

61 Depending upon the relationships in the acquisition of content, this stakeholder group is made up of individuals and organizations variously referred to as audiences, consumers, or users.

62 It is recognized that wide differences in access to domestic and foreign content exist globally and that these are related to income levels and the existence of supporting infrastructures such as electricity, cable systems, broadband, roadways, retail shops and libraries.

63 Members of this stakeholder group have some conflicting interests in copyright because it raises prices (a negative result for them), but also tends to increase the range of choice (a positive result for them). Some members of the group—educational institutions, for example—have very specific interests in copyright exceptions and limitations. In general, this group prefers shorter rather than longer periods of copyright protection.

64 The group includes those who read, listen to, or view copyrighted material for general informational and entertainment purposes, as well as students, researchers, patrons of libraries and archives, and those with disabilities. These latter groups have strong interest in authorized exceptions being made for them as regards content that would otherwise be fully protected by copyright. They argue that the interests of research and education are best served by free flow of content that can feed knowledge dissemination and creation. Encryption of signals is not generally favored by this group. Libraries generally argue in favor of maximum accessibility and therefore for only limited copyright. Academics also argue against full copyright protection for published research conducted with public funds.

65 Members of this stakeholder group generally prefer easy, free access, but they also benefit from increased availability of content those results from paid and encrypted services. These stakeholders generally oppose aspects of the proposed treaty that might apply to public funded or to user-generated content, whose motivations are maximum exposure rather than restriction. Amongst representatives of this stakeholder group are library associations, consumer organizations, and civil society organizations.