In July of this year, representatives of FESAAL -Federation of Societies of Latin American Audiovisual Authors- traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to attend a meeting with authorities of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), within the framework of the 63rd series of meetings of the Assemblies of its Member States. Representing FESAAL were Dr. Germán Gutiérrez (copyright lawyer and coordinator of the legal and technical committee), Miguel Ángel Diani (member of the executive committee and president of Argentores) and Adriana Saldarriaga (lawyer, coordinator of the legal and technical committee and president of REDES Colombia.) WIPO was represented by Sylvie Forbin (deputy director general and head of the committee on copyright and related rights) and Geidy Lung (lawyer and senior counsel). WIPO is a self-funded United Nations agency dedicated to information and cooperation on intellectual property policies.
In October 2021, WIPO included FESAAL in its list of organizations with observer member status with the aim of encouraging the participation of non-governmental organizations and other interest groups in discussions on intellectual property issues.
During the meeting, the guests explained the functioning of the Audiovisual Authors International Confederation (AVACI) founded in 2021, and the historic joint work carried out in legal matters to achieve an international convention establishing mandatory collective management and the right to remuneration for Directors and Screenwriters. Forbin proposed that the guests submit a document with technical recommendations on the international management of this right before the WIPO committee on copyright and related rights.
The participation in the construction of the rules on intellectual property worldwide is another success of the international collective of Audiovisual Authors in the unified fight for their rights.