By Andres Izquierdo
As WIPO’s Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) prepares to meet for its 34th session this May, an important question is back on the table: Are we doing enough to support access to knowledge, culture, and education through copyright limitations and exceptions? These legal flexibilities—designed to enable libraries, educators, researchers, and others to use copyrighted content under certain conditions—are vital tools for development. But despite being central to WIPO’s 2007 Development Agenda, they still play a limited role in the organization’s work.
WIPO’s latest reporting shows a continued emphasis on supporting IP protection and enforcement. In the Director General’s report to the CDIP, most activities are framed around helping countries strengthen their IP systems. There is a brief mention of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) and its ongoing discussions on the Broadcasting Treaty and exceptions for libraries and education. But these references don’t tell us much about the real developmental impacts of those discussions—or the need to ensure that any new treaties respect countries’ ability to design exceptions and flexibilities that serve the public interest.
There are some positive signs. One project approved at CDIP/30 supports the use of Text and Data Mining (TDM) by African research institutions. This is the first CDIP project specifically focused on copyright limitations, and it’s a promising example of how IP flexibilities can directly benefit research and innovation. But it’s also the only one of its kind. Meanwhile, WIPO’s Flexibilities Database—which could be a key resource—still focuses almost entirely on patent law and hasn’t been updated to include copyright-related flexibilities or real-world examples of how countries are using them.
So what can be done? One idea is for Member States to propose new CDIP projects that explore how copyright limitations and exceptions can support public goals—like providing access to education materials, enabling preservation in cultural heritage institutions, or facilitating scientific collaboration. Another is to ensure that norm-setting activities, such as negotiations on the Broadcasting Treaty, are carefully monitored by CDIP to assess their development impacts. These steps wouldn’t require major changes, just a commitment to make sure the tools already embedded in international IP law are better understood and more widely used.
As WIPO’s work continues to evolve alongside emerging challenges like artificial intelligence, access to digital content, and global inequality, the importance of copyright flexibilities is only growing. CDIP was created to help balance the global IP system, and that balance depends on more than protection—it depends on access too. By giving limitations and exceptions the space they deserve, Member States can help WIPO truly deliver on its promise of development for all.
