Author: InfoJustice Eds.

20 New Copyright Policy Recommendations

Posted by | Jun 21, 2022 | , ,

[Communia Association] This page lists the 20 policy recommendations launched in May 2022. These supersede the 14 policy recommendations that we published in 2011 and that we evaluated in 2021. The policy recommendations have been developed though a consultation process that gathered input from more than 60 academics, activists and other experts that ran from late 2021 to early 2022. This process was made possible though a generous donation by Pam Samuelson and Bob Glushko. Our policy recommendations concern themselves with measures to defend and expand the public domain, measures that protect and promote usage rights, measures to empower creators and their audiences and measures that create safeguards against copyright abuse.

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How Can You Save a Dying Language When Copyright Lets Somebody Own Its Key Learning Materials?

Posted by | Jun 9, 2022 |

[Glyn Moody] One of deep-seated problems with copyright is that its supporters believe everything created should be “owned” by someone and protected from being “stolen” by others. Walled Culture has already written about how that’s a bad fit for writing music, and the NBC News site has a fascinating story about how the same issue is plaguing a very different world – that of indigenous languages (pointed out by D. J. Mary on Twitter). It concerns the Lakota language, one of many native American languages that are at risk of extinction because so few people speak them fluently. In recent years, there have been increasing efforts to create language resources from the surviving speakers, to prevent the language and its culture being lost, and to produce learning materials.

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SOBRE EL SCCR 42 DE LA OMPI Y LA ALIANZA DE LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL LATINOAMERICANA PARA EL ACCESO JUSTO AL CONOCIMIENTO

Posted by | May 27, 2022 | , ,

[Fundación Karisma] Entre el 9 y el 13 de mayo de 2022 tuvo lugar la cuadragésima segunda sesión del Comité Permanente de Derecho de Autor y Derechos Conexos de la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (SCCR 42 de la OMPI). Para esta ocasión, seis organizaciones de la sociedad civil latinoamericana coordinamos acciones conformando la Alianza de la Sociedad Civil Latinoamericana para el Acceso Justo al Conocimiento. Las organizaciones con estatus de observadoras, Fundación Karisma de Colombia y Fundación Vía Libre de Argentina, en conjunto con las organizaciones que conformamos la Alianza, a saber: Datysoc de Uruguay, Derechos Digitales de Chile, Hiperderecho de Perú, IBDAutoral e InternetLab de Brasil, asistimos al SCCR 42 para presentar nuestro posicionamiento en relación con los puntos de la agenda, especialmente aquellos relacionados con la agenda de limitaciones y excepciones al derecho de autor.

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The WIPO Files II: Is International Lawmaking on Copyright Still Possible?

Posted by | May 25, 2022 | , , ,

[Teresa Nobre] The 42nd session of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) took place from 9 to 13 May 2022 in Geneva. This was the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started that most of the delegates were reunited in person. In 2020 and 2021, the Committee held hybrid format sessions of online and in-person participation, with most of the delegations attending remotely. The number of meetings were reduced from two regular sessions to one per year as a result and the Committee agreed not to engage in text-based negotiations during those sessions. The return to Geneva could have led one to believe that there might be a renewed interest in moving the Committee’s agenda forward. But as the days passed by, without a consensus on any agenda item, this hope faded away. Only when the session was coming to an end did the delegates finally agree on a few next steps for the two main agenda items of the Committee, in both cases falling short of the initial expectations.

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Libraries, Research Get a Boost at WIPO

Posted by | May 25, 2022 | ,

[Terea Hackett] The 42nd session of WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the global forum that sets international copyright law and policy, took place in Geneva from 9 – 13 May 2022 – the first full meeting since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. EIFL was there to promote strong rights for libraries in support of access to knowledge for education, research and development. I was representing EIFL with Dick Kawooya, University of South Carolina, USA; Anthony Kakooza, Makerere University, Uganda; Desmond Oriakhogba, University of Venda, South Africa, and Awa Cissé Diouf, Universite Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Senegal.

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EXCEPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS TO COPYRIGHT IN THE AGENDA AT SCCR 42 WIPO

Posted by | May 24, 2022 | , ,

[Deborah De Angelis] The SCCR42 took place in Geneva from May 9th to 13th, 2022, turning into an in-person meeting after the Covid pandemic, but with the possibility of remote participation as a “phygital” event… The SCCR42 agenda item 7 has been dedicated to limitations and exceptions to copyright, which has formed a core part of the agenda of the SCCR for at least 15 years. One of the goals achieved during the previous discussions is the Marrakesh Treaty in 2013 for the use of copyrighted works by people with blindness or visual impairments.

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Re:Create Interview with Sean Flynn

Posted by | May 20, 2022 | , ,

[ReCreate] For our latest Copyright Corner Q&A series installment, Re:Create spoke with Sean Flynn, Director of the American University Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property. Flynn helps explain the meaning of “information justice,” the restrictions that continue to constrain research and education – even in today’s digital age – and how global IP laws impact access to the Covid vaccine. Flynn also helps readers better understand how the ability to make and use research materials is core to the freedom of expression and how copyright law can become an unjustifiable restriction without adequate exceptions.

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Strong Support, Discordant Tunes: The African Group’s Proposal on a Work Program on Limitations and Exceptions Moves Forward in WIPO’s Committee on Copyright

Posted by | May 19, 2022 | , ,

[Desmond Oriakhogba and Dick Kawooya] The African Group’s (AG) proposal on a Work Program for Copyright Exceptions and Limitations (L&Es) was item 7 on the Agenda at the 42nd Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (WIPO-SCCR) held from 9 to 13 May 2022. In preparation for the 42nd Session, we noted that the African Group proposal for a Work Program on L&Es “picks up on where the [WIPO-SCCR] left off in 2019, and gives a focus to its future work on important issues of access to copyrighted works for education, research and other public interest purposes”; and, if adopted, the Work Program “will set WIPO on the path of formulating norms that will position the global copyright system to withstand future pandemics”.

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WIPO SCCR 42: Statement by CIS on the Limitations and Exceptions Agenda Item

Posted by | May 19, 2022 | , , , ,

[Anubha Sinha] Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’m speaking on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society, India. The Proposal by the African Group for a Draft work program on Exceptions and Limitations has the potential to address issues faced in the domains of access to information, culture and education, keeping in mind that there have been systemic shifts in the knowledge ecosystem since pandemic, which will endure in the long term as well.

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COMMUNIA Statement to the 42nd WIPO SCCR on Limitations and Exceptions for Education and Research

Posted by | May 17, 2022 | , , ,

[Teresa Nobre] …There is absolutely no doubt that the restrictions copyright laws pose on access to knowledge and information condition the right to education and the right to research, and that educational and research exceptions would benefit society as a whole. That is what will determine whether teachers can show a short news report during live-streamed online classes, whether researchers can conduct medical research or track disinformation online.

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Intellectual Property Institute Statement on the 42nd WIPO SCCR

Posted by | May 17, 2022 | , , ,

[Intellectual Property Institute] The first half of the event focused on the Broadcasting Treaty proposal, which SCCR first discussed more than 15 years ago. The proposal would grant new exclusive rights to broadcasting organisations, but falls short on granting the necessary exceptions and limitations in public interest. NGOs such as Communia and EIFL have harshly criticised the proposal in that regard. In the second half of the event, exceptions and limitations to copyright for educational and research institutions were the focus of the discussion. The African group of delegates prepared and presented a draft programme proposal on the issue. They drew attention to the difficulties, encountered in African educational institutions, due to copyright protection of educational materials. In addition, many African libraries mostly operate in physical form and have poor access to digital materials.

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WHO and MPP Announce Agreement with NIH for COVID-19 Health Technologies

Posted by | May 12, 2022 | ,

[Medicines Patent Pool] WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) today finalised a licensing agreement with the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the development of several innovative therapeutics, early-stage vaccines and diagnostic tools for COVID-19. The licences, which are transparent, global and non-exclusive, will allow manufacturers from around the world to work with MPP and C-TAP to make these technologies accessible to people living in low- and middle-income countries and help put an end to the pandemic. The 11 COVID-19 technologies offered under two licences include the stabilised spike protein used in currently available COVID-19 vaccines, research tools for vaccine, therapeutic and diagnostic development as well as early-stage vaccine candidates and diagnostics.

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Getting Ready for WIPO

Posted by | May 2, 2022 | , ,

[Teresa Hackett] The 42nd session of WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the global forum that sets international copyright law and policy, takes place in Geneva from 9 – 13 May 2022. It is the first full meeting since the start of the pandemic… Three topics of high importance to libraries will be discussed during the week: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on libraries and education, a draft treaty for the protection of broadcast organizations, and an exciting new proposal for a work programme at SCCR on limitations and exceptions (L&Es) for libraries and archives, education and research.

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Intellectual Property and Youth: Copyright Laws Must Advance the Right to Education

Posted by | Apr 26, 2022 | ,

[Joint statement endorsed by 18 civil society groups] On the occasion of a World Intellectual Property Day focused on Intellectual Property and Youth, we call on governments to ensure that national and international copyright laws ensure the right to education for all. We applaud the choice of theme, which draws attention to the largest generation in history, who will be the driving force for sustainable and inclusive development. Yet, young people today are faced with considerable barriers to engage politically, economically and socially. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated preexisting challenges and created new obstacles that prevent youth and students from thriving. This has been particularly evident with regard to education.

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Patent Analysis for Medicines and Biotherapeutics in Trials to Treat COVID-19

Posted by | Apr 26, 2022 | ,

[Srividya Ravi] This report provides an analysis of patents covering medicines in trials to treat COVID-19. The aim of the report is to support national patent offices and interested parties in developing countries with information that can serve as guidance for the examination of the claims contained in relevant patents or patent applications.

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An Examination of Selected Public Health Exceptions in Asian Patent Laws

Posted by | Apr 22, 2022 | ,

[Kiyoshi Adachi] This study examines the variations within Asia of two exceptions to patent rights that are commonly justified under Article 30 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement), namely the research and experimentation exception and the regulatory review (or “Bolar”) exception. Both these exceptions are important in the context of the 2001 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health insofar as they are designed to provide flexibility to protect public health and support countries’ overall scientific and technological aspirations. The study examines, from a comparative perspective, examples of these respective exceptions in patent legislation in South, Southeast and East Asia, and identifies peculiarities in the variations among countries in these sub-regions.

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What Is the Impact of Intellectual Property Rules on Access to Medicines? A Systematic Review

Posted by | Apr 21, 2022 | , ,

[Brigitte Tenni, Hazel V. J. Moir, Belinda Townsend, Burcu Kilic, Anne‑Maree Farrell, Tessa Keegel and Deborah Gleeson] Abstract: It is widely accepted that intellectual property legal requirements such as patents and data exclusivity can affect access to medicines, but to date there has not been a comprehensive review of the empirical evidence on this topic. The World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) requires Member States to implement minimum standards of intellectual property protection including patents for pharmaceutical products, but also contains ‘flexibilities’ designed to address barriers to access to medicines. National intellectual property laws can also include TRIPS-plus rules that go beyond what is required by TRIPS. We aimed to systematically review literature that measures the impact of intellectual property rules on access to medicines, whether implemented as a result of TRIPS, TRIPS-plus provisions in other trade agreements, or unilateral policy decisions.

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Letter to Canadian Ministers Regarding Proposed Amendments to Copyright Law on Term of Protection and Education Exceptions

Posted by | Apr 15, 2022 | ,

[Jointly signed by 25 Canadian IP scholars] As a group of Canadian Intellectual Property Law scholars, we write to express our deep concern regarding the reference in the 2022 Federal Budget to amendments to the Copyright Act. We strongly urge you to exclude the contemplated amendments to the Copyright Act from any Budget Implementation Bill and ensure that their enactment would follow the ordinary legislative process.

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Creative Commons Publishes Policy Paper: Towards Better Sharing of Cultural Heritage — An Agenda for Copyright Reform

Posted by | Apr 5, 2022 |

[Brigitte Vézina] Over the past few months, members of the Creative Commons (CC) Copyright Platform along with CC friends from around the world have worked together to develop a policy paper addressing the key high-level policy issues affecting access and sharing of cultural heritage, notably by galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs). In this blog post, we provide some background on the paper and share a few highlights.

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Ahmed Abdel Latif
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