Here are  Back2Basics collections from today’s news items

B2B #1: From news- [pib] Cabinet approves accession to WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996 and WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty, 1996

Copyright Act, 1957

1. The Copyright Act 1957(wef 21 January 1958) (as amended by the Copyright Amendment Act 2012) governs the subject of copyright law in India.
2. The Copyright Act 1957 was the first post-independence copyright legislation in India and the law has been amended six times since 1957.
3. The most recent amendment was in the year 2012, through the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012.
4. The history of copyright law in India can be traced back to its colonial era under the British Empire.
5. India is a member of most of the important international conventions governing the area of copyright law, including

• the Berne Convention of 1886 (as modified at Paris in 1971),
• the Universal Copyright Convention of 1951,
• the Rome Convention of 1961 and
• the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

India accessed as a member of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) in July, 2018.

WIPO Copyright Treaty

1. It is a Special agreement under Berne Convention (for protection of literary and artistic works).
2. It came in force on March 6, 2002 and has been adopted by 96 contracting parties till date.
3. It has provisions to extend the protection of copyrights contained therein to the digital environment.
4. Further it recognises the rights specific to digital environment, of making work available, to address “on-demand” and other interactive modes of access.

WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty

1. It came in force on May 20, 2002 and has 96 contracting parties as its members.
2. WPPT deals with rights of two kinds of beneficiaries, particularly in digital environment –

• Performers (actors, singers, musicians etc.)
• Producers of Phonograms (Sound recordings).

The treaty empowers right owners in the negotiations with new digital platforms and distributors.

It recognizes moral rights of the performers for the first time & provides exclusive economic rights to them.

B2B #2: From news- [pib] Cabinet approves DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018

DNA profiling technology

1. DNA fingerprinting or DNA profiling is a method of isolating and identifying variable elements within the base-pair sequence of DNA.
2. DNA fingerprinting technology is utilized by police all over the world for fool-proof identification of criminals who leave their traces at the crime scene while committing the crime.
3. The technology plays a crucial role in solving crimes as it has potential to link a series of crimes by placing the suspects by linking them with the crime scene.

Here’s a Factoid to brush up your concepts

Name : Cartosat-2 series

Details : The launch marks the roll out of the 100th satellite by ISRO. 30 other satellites – 28 foreign and 2 Indian. 2nd time that ISRO has been able to place satellites in 2 different orbits This was done through the “multiple burn technology” under which the rocket’s engine is switched off and then switched on to control its height.

Launch Vehicle : PSLV C40