Launch of the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources
[PIJIP Event – Wednesday, February 17, 20201 | 3:00pm EST] We are pleased to announce the release of the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources. This document is intended to support authors, teachers, professors, librarians, and all open educators in evaluating when and how they can incorporate third party copyright materials into Open Educational Resources to meet their pedagogical goals. The document will be out before the webinar and we will distribute to all registrants when available. Click here to register.
Intellectual Property in the EU-Mersosur FTA: A Brief Review of the Negotiating Outcomes of a Long-Awaited Agreement
[Roxana Blasetti and Juan I. Correa] This paper provides a first glance at the Intellectual Property Chapter of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the European Union (EU). It is not intended to provide an exhaustive analysis of the commitments involved but rather to briefly review the scope of intellectual property in the bi-regional negotiations, which took more than 20 years and ended in June 2019 with an “agreement in principle.” It also aims to put the Chapter into context with the whole commitments covered by the FTA and, finally, to highlight its most relevant aspects. Click here for more.
CASE Act: Good or Bad News for Filmmakers?
[AU Center for Media and Social Impact] In December, the CASE Act (for Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement) was quietly slipped into must-pass legislation. Pushed heavily by large copyright holders and batted down by copyright-flexibility advocates for years, it is now law. It could affect how creators of all kinds, including filmmakers, experience the employment of fair use in practice. On Feb. 5, the Center for Media & Social Impact in conjunction with its partners—University Film and Video Association’s Documentary Working Group, D-Word, International Documentary Association, Dallas Videofest, and AU’s School of Communication, hosted a webinar, “What Does the CASE Act Mean for Filmmakers and Fair Use?” The recorded livestream of the webinar is available on the School of Communication’s YouTube channel. Click here for more.
WTO Dithers on TRIPS Waiver Even as Global Gaps in COVID-19 Vaccine Access Grow
[KM Gopakumar and Chetali Rao] As countries around the world have started vaccinating their residents against COVID-19, the unequal distribution of vaccines between rich and poor countries has become obvious and alarming. Since October, the World Trade Organisation has been debating a proposal initiated by India and South Africa to waive obligations under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights or TRIPS agreement to make COVID-19 technologies, including vaccines, quickly accessible to across the world. During the TRIPS council meeting on 4 February, developed countries continued to oppose movement on the proposal. Click here for more on twn.my.
Afraid to Lead: Canadian Government Launches Timid Consultation on Implementing Copyright Term Extension
[Michael Geist] After years of rejecting copyright term extension beyond the international law standard of life of the author plus 50 years, the Canadian government caved to pressure from the United States by agreeing to the equivalent of life of the author plus 70 years in the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Trade Agreement (USMCA). As part of that agreement, Canada obtained a 30 month transition period that would allow for consultation on how to implement the copyright term obligation. That consultation was launched late yesterday, with the two departments responsible for copyright – ISED and Canadian Heritage – launching the consultation and a consultation document. The consultation period is very short with responses due by March 12, 2021. The department says that all responses will be made available online once the consultation is concluded. Click here for more.
Singapore Unveils General Fair Use Exception in Copyright Reforms
[Rory O’Neil] Singapore is seeking public comment on an overhaul of its copyright laws, which aim to strengthen fair use exceptions and grant automatic protection for commissioned works such as photographs. The country’s Ministry of Law (MOL) has published a draft bill, which is intended to replace the current Copyright Act, last updated in 2006. The reforms are a legislative response to a 2019 report which made several key recommendations for a new copyright regime in Singapore. Among the key policy changes is the introduction of a general fair use exception to copyright protection. The MOL said this will restructure current exceptions into a “more open-ended” provision. Click here for more on worldipreview.com.
