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International copyright pact to go into force

Gabon signed up to the World Intellectual Property Organization's international treaty on digital copyright protection Dec. 6, giving the pact the thirty ratifications it needed to move forward.
Written by ZDNET Editors, Contributor
Gabon signed up to the World Intellectual Property Organization's international treaty on digital copyright protection Dec. 6, giving the pact the thirty ratifications it needed to move forward. The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) will now go into force on March 6, 2002.

Among the countries already signed up to the pact are the United States and Japan. None of the European Union member countries are backing the treaty, as they are working on a directive of their own.

Two more countries are needed to give the go-ahead to another WIPO pact designed to safeguard digital rights. So far, 28 countries are party to the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), which deals with producers and performers of sound recordings. --ZDNet France and Karen Said, ZDNet News

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