USTR Launches Review of South African GSP Benefits
The USTR has announced that its next GSP review hearing will include consideration of the complaint by the IIPA alleging that South Africa’s adoption of a US style fair use right would violate the adequate and effective intellectual property requirement for GSP (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)(5)) primarily due to passage (but not yet signed into law) Copyright Amendment Act.
Breaking the Impasse: Copyright Indaba (2 December 2019, Wits University)
Join us at an Indaba where IP experts, academics, authors, creators and other stakeholders will debate the issue around the constitutionality of the Copyright Amendment Bill.
SAVE THE DATE: Global Congress – August 13-15, 2020
The Karisma Foundation, hosts of the 2020 Global Congress on Intellectual Property in the Public Interest, has announced the dates: August 13-15, 2020. The Congress will be held at the Hilton Hotel, El Laguito, in Cartagena, Colombia.
Library Copyright Alliance Letter to the President of South Africa
The Library Copyright Alliance, which consists of three major library associations in the United States, writes to respond to some of the complaints made by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (“IIPA”) to the U.S. Trade Representative concerning the Copyright Amendment Bill.
IIPA Petition Leads USTR to Review South Africa’s GSP Benefits
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced an upcoming review of South Africa’s eligibility for trade benefits under the General System of Preferences (GSP), a system which allows duty-free imports from developing countries that meet certain criteria. According to the announcement, USTR “is accepting a petition from the International Intellectual Property Alliance based on concerns with South Africa’s compliance with the GSP IP criterion, in the area of copyright protection and enforcement.” It will publish a Federal Register Notice requesting comments and announcing the dates of a public hearing.
South Africa’s Copyright Bill Is Good for Digital Archives – Here’s Why
The current Copyright Act has no provisions for libraries, archives, galleries and museums. As an afterthought, limited provisions were included in Section 13 regulations for libraries and archives. Digitisation is the main form of preserving material in the 21st century. Yet the country’s copyright law doesn’t permit it. This causes serious problems for libraries, archives, museums and galleries. They are currently unable to digitise any of their works without first having to get copyright permission, and to pay high copyright fees.
PIJIP Events in Brazil to Focus on Copyright and Rights to Education and Research
PIJIP, in its role as chair of the Global Expert Network on Copyright User Rights, will sponsor two events in Brazil to discuss how copyright can promote rights to access educational and research materials. The meetings are being planned at a time when these issues are being discussed in an agenda item of the World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. Brazil has also announced a copyright reform process. Details on the meetings, each of which is open to the public, are detailed below.
WIPO SCCR Progresses L&E Agenda Amid Controversy
The 39th Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) concluded with measured progress on the agenda to discuss international instruments on limitations and exceptions amid increasing controversy over the management of the Committee.
Civil Society Letter to WIPO Delegates Attending the 39th SCCR
[Letter endorsed by 10 civil society groups] We are shocked by the attached proposal of the Chair to change the title of the agenda items on limitations and exceptions and prioritize discussions of the “role of licensing, contractual-based solutions, etc.” We are also troubled by the measures that will have the effect of reducing action on limitations and exceptions to “capacity building” and “tool kits.”
Harvard Professor Ruth Okediji Calls for New Public Interest Copyright System
Professor Ruth Okediji Delivered the 8th Annual Peter A. Jaszi Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Property. Her lecture addressed The Unfinished Business of Copyright Limitations and Exceptions. Professor Okediji called for a new paradigm of thinking about the relationship between copyright and the public interest. “The excesses of the copyright system cannot be remedied by limitations and exceptions alone,” she exclaimed.
