Hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the Diplomatic Conference in Geneva from 2-20 December 1996 brought 126 countries together and marked the culmination of five years of debate at WIPO level. The Diplomatic Conference was not only successful in bringlng to fruition two new international treaties, but in bringing together diverse interests and the concerns of both developed and developing countries. The Conference President was Mrs Esther Mshai Tolle (Kenya) and the Secretary, Mr Mihaly Ficsor, Assistant Director General of WIPD. The Conference was chaired by Mr Jukka Leides (Finland) who also prepared the notes attached to the proposed treaties.
The Conference was notable both for its new blood -wlth China making its first appearance and the European Commission being designated a 'special delegation' and for its regrettable lack of transparency. Despite the strong presence of non-governmental organizations (75 in all), their participation was limited to obsewelr status, although their views could be circulated in writing.
Unlike most other delegations, the US delegation was backed by a large team from the private sector, whose economic might was particularly felt during the final week of negotiations.
Work Programme
The highly disparate interests of developed and developing countries, creators and user groups met firstly to expand the rights provided for under the Berne International Copyright Convention'
(to make it 'Beme Plus') under the proposals of draft Treaty I and secondly to provide new rights for performers and phonogram producers under draft Treaty II. The intention was to devise an international framework of copyright and neighbouring rights protection which would meet the requirements of the electronic environment and, in particular, the information society.