Regional seminar on signal piracy opens today

A two-day seminar on signal piracy opens today, Monday, 6 June 2011, at Emperor's Palace, Ekurhuleni at 8am. Deputy minister of communications Obed Bapela will deliver the opening address.

Hosted by the Department of Communications, the objectives of the regional seminar are to prepare for the 22nd session of the Special Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights (SCCR), taking place in Geneva on 15-24 June; to lobby and consolidate Africa's position regarding the treaty on the protection of broadcasting organisations; to raise awareness on signal piracy; and to share lessons and strategies to abolish signal piracy on cross-border levels.

The workshop is aimed at policy makers, broadcast engineers, regulators, broadcasters, IP specialists, enforcement agencies and content rights owners and specialists.

The first day of the seminar will discuss understanding signal piracy, where experts will provide various dimensions and perspectives on signal piracy. The second day will look at the ongoing processes at world Intellectual Property Organisations regarding the draft of treaty on the protection of broadcasting organisations. In this regard, the African countries will work towards consolidating positions in preparation for the forthcoming session in Geneva.

To attend, email Keitumetse Hlahatsi az.vog.cod@estemutieK or call +27 (0) 82 922 3376. For media queries, email Busiswa Mlandu az.vog.cod@awsisub or call +27 (0) 72 070 6896.