Joint Letter from Legal Academics and Policy Experts to Colombian Government re: Copyright Amendments Bill
[Letter signed by 16 legal academics and policy experts] … We understand that the bill is intended to implement the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Other countries – including Singapore and Korea – have successfully used Free Trade Agreement implementing processes to adopt exceptions specifically modeled on the U.S. “fair use” exception. The general approach associated with the term “fair use” is to include an exception to copyright that is general, open and flexible, as those terms are defined below. The particulars of how such an approach may be implemented can differ from country to country. Both civil and common law systems increasingly embrace such exceptions in their law. Colombia can and should consider including one in its revision. Click here for more.
Copyright Reform in Colombia Should Focus on Supporting Users’ Rights
[Timothy Vollmer] Today Creative Commons, CC Colombia, and over a dozen other CC affiliates and partners sent a letter to the Colombian government calling for user-friendly copyright reform. Colombia’s copyright law is being re-opened to come into compliance with the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. We believe that this is a timely opportunity to introduce positive changes to copyright that will support users and the public, such as adopting a flexible use exception like fair use. Our community looks forward to providing ideas and feedback during the reform process. Click here for more.
Institutional and Normative Considerations for Copyright and Access to Education in Developing Countries: Rethinking Incremental Solutions Through Limitations and Exceptions
[Susan Isiko Strba] Abstract: This article considers both national and multilateral approaches to facilitate access to copyrighted materials for educational purposes in developing countries. It emphasizes the need for both normative re-ordering and institutional reform. In case of normative re-ordering, the article highlights the role that national institutions like courts, in addition to legislators, might play in crafting case-by-case educational exceptions. However, it argues that limitations and exceptions in themselves are insufficient doctrinal mechanisms on which to place the sole burden of facilitating effective access to educational materials. Click here for more.
European Commission (Almost) Does the Right Thing on Marrakesh
[Joint statement by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations] As we enter the final days of the countdown to the entry into force of the 2013 Marrakesh Treaty for Visually Impaired Persons, there is cause for some optimism in Europe. The European Commission has published draft legislation that will establish a clear right for individuals and ‘authorised entities’ such as libraries to make accessible copies of books for visually impaired people and those with other reading disabilities. Moreover, it opens the way to the sharing of such copies, not only within and between the EU’s Member States, but also globally. Click here for more.
Delhi High Court’s Ruling Against Publishers is a Triumph For Knowledge
[Anubha Sinha] In a landmark judgment, Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw of the Delhi high court has held that reproducing books and distributing copies thereof for the purpose of education is not copyright infringement. The ruling legitimises the practice of photocopying prevalent in universities and other spaces of learning. The question of whether such photocopying without the permission of the copyright holders was legal arose in 2013. A group of five prominent publishers had filed a suit against the University of Delhi and its photocopying service provider, alleging infringement of their copyrighted titles. Click here for more.
