Broadcasters from around the world are present at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to explain to country delegations why only a new Treaty can tackle the increasingly rampant piracy of broadcasts. In a recent interview for WIPO Magazine, Ms Ingrid Deltenre, Director General of the EBU, clarifies why the rights of broadcasters are in urgent need of modernization.

An "inter-sessional" meeting of the Standing Committee for Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) is taking place this week at WIPO. The meeting is devoted exclusively to the discussion on a new international Treaty on broadcasters' neighbouring right.

There is a global consensus that the existing framework of the Rome Convention of 1961 urgently needs to be modernized. It does not provide sufficient means to combat broadcast piracy on the Internet or other digital platforms. The EBU hopes that substantial progress can be made on a treaty text during this meeting so that a diplomatic conference can be convened for 2014.

In the interview Ms Deltenre emphasizes the widely recognized and critical role of radio and television broadcasters in developing and sustaining an informed and engaged society. Broadcast piracy is not just a serious concern for broadcasters; "by undermining the investments made by broadcasters, inadequate protection eventually undermines the public interest". Adequate legal protection to combat piracy in the digital age is necessary to sustain investments in production and distribution of programmes and their important contribution to the economy.

The time to act is now. Soon households all over the world will expect instant and easy access to broadcasters' services via connected TV, PCs, tablets and mobile phones. Legal rules must be adapted to cover these new services.