Because existing international agreements relevant to
broadcasting protections do not cover advancements in broadcasting technology that were not
envisioned when they were concluded, in 1998 the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related
Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) decided to negotiate and
draft a new treaty that would extend protection to new methods of broadcasting, but has yet to
achieve consensus on a text. In recent years, a growing signal piracy problem has increased the
urgency of concluding a new treaty, resulting in a decision to restrict the focus to signal-based
protections for traditional broadcasting organizations and cablecasting. Consideration of
controversial issues of webcasting (advocated by the United States) and simulcasting protections are
postponed. However, much work remains to achieve a final proposed text as the basis for formal
negotiations to conclude a treaty. Despite a concerted effort to conclude a treaty in 2007, in June
2007 the SCCR decided that more time and work were needed. A concluded treaty would not take
effect for the United States unless Congress enacts implementing legislation and the United States
ratifies the treaty with the advice and consent of the Senate. Noting that the United States is not a
party to the 1961 Rome Convention, various stakeholders have argued that a new broadcasting treaty
is not needed, that any new treaty should not inhibit technological innovation or consumer use, and
that Congress should exercise greater oversight over U.S. participation in the negotiations.