Call for Research Proposals
The Academic Network on the Right to Research in International Copyright is calling for research relevant to the development of global norms on copyright policy in its application to research. Text and data mining research, for example, is contributing insights to respond to urgent social problems, from combatting COVID to monitoring hate speech and disinformation on social media. Other technologies make it possible to access the materials of libraries, archives and museums from afar – an especially necessary activity during the COVID pandemic. But these and other research activities may require reproduction and sharing of copyright protected works, including across borders. There is a lack of global norms for such activities, which may contribute to uncertainty and apprehension, inhibiting research projects and collaborations. We seek to partner with researchers interested in exploring the means and ends of recognizing a “right to research” in international copyright law. In our initial conception, there are at least three overlapping dimensions to the concept.
Letter from 20 Civil Society Groups to USTR Promoting a Balanced Copyright Policy to Benefit All Americans
[Joint letter signed by 20 civil society groups] Dear Ambassador Tai: Congratulations on your confirmation as United States Trade Representative. We write to request that the Biden-Harris Administration return to the Obama-Biden Administration policy of protecting and promoting fair use rights in international copyright policy. The Trump Administration abandoned this policy, and took the contrary position of pressuring countries such as South Africa to abandon fair use proposals. The undersigned organizations, representing consumers, librarians, archivists, educators, and creators, urge this Administration to once again prioritize fair use as an engine of equity. In particular, the United States should praise, not punish, other countries that seek to incorporate fair use in their national copyright laws.
Ensuring the Visibility and Accessibility of European Creative Content on the World Market: The Need for Copyright Data Improvement in the Light of New Technologies
[Martin Senftleben, Thomas Margoni, Daniel Antal, Balázs Bodó, Stef van Gompel, Christian Handke, Martin Kretschmer, Joost Poort, João Quintais and Sebastian Felix Schwemer] Abstract: In the European Strategy for Data, the European Commission highlighted the EU’s ambition to acquire a leading role in the data economy. At the same time, the Commission conceded that the EU would have to increase its pools of quality data available for use and re-use. In the creative industries, this need for enhanced data quality and interoperability is particularly strong. Without data improvement, unprecedented opportunities for monetising the wide variety of EU creative and making this content available for new technologies, such as artificial intelligence training systems, will most probably be lost.
Sign-On STATEMENT TO WTO In Support of TRIPS WAIVER: Copyright Barriers Prevent an Equitable Response to COVID-19
A group of 27 civil society organizations has drafted a statement to the World Trade Organization (WTO) highlighting the need to overcome copyright barriers to ensure an equitable response to COVID-19. The statement is open for endorsements from both organizations and from individuals until March 18. It will be formally submitted to the WTO on March 22.
Update on Publisher’s Copyright Infringement Suit Against Sci-Hub and LibGen in India
[Anubha Sinha] This blog post is an update on the copyright infringement suit filed against Sci-Hub and LibGen in the Delhi High Court by Elsevier Ltd, Wiley India, and American Chemical Society… Indian science and academia realise that their right to research is at stake. In January, several Indian scientists and advocacy organisations applied to intervene in the case, to persuade the court to not issue an interim or permanent injunction for dynamic blocking of the websites.
Libraries and Open Data in 2021: Access, Skills, Engagement
[International Federation of Library Associations] 6 March 2021 marks the annual Open Data Day. This international celebration brings together a wide range of stakeholders – from librarians and public servants to developers and statisticians – to showcase creative uses and benefits of open data to drive development and help address today’s societal challenges.
Australian Link Code May Violate Berne Convention and Provoke Trade Litigation
[Jonathan Band and Sean Flynn] Next week, the Australian Parliament is set to vote on the “News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code” (“Code”). The Code has been a top lobbying priority of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which dominates the news industry in Australia. The Code is incredibly worrisome from an international copyright law perspective, as it is the latest attempt to tax quotation rights protected by the Berne Convention. According to a newly published analysis by two leading international copyright scholars, enactment of the Code would likely violate Article 10(1) of the Berne Convention.
Comment to USTR for the Special 301 Review
[Sean Flynn] The Biden Administration has called for every agency to identify “[w]hether new policies, regulations, or guidance documents may be necessary to advance equity in agency actions and programs.” [1] USTR could promote the equity directive by adopting the following policy in relation the operation of the Special 301 Program
European Digital Single Market Directive Implementaion Update: More Propsals to Protect User Rights
[Communia Association] The implementation deadline for the Copyright in the Digital Single Market is a mere five months ahead of us. On the 7th of June, the EU Member States are expected to have implemented the 2019 update of the EU copyright rules. With less than half a year to go, it is looking increasingly unlikely that more than a small handful of Member States will manage to implement the new provisions by the deadline. In this post, we are taking stock of the implementation process focusing on what has changed since our update from a month ago.
Austrian Article 17 proposal: The high road towards implementation?
[Paul Keller] So far there we have seen two different approaches to implementing Article 17 into national copyright legislation. On the one hand, we have countries like France, the Netherlands, or Croatia who have presented implementation proposals that stick as closely as possible to the language and the structure of Article 17 while implementing its provisions within the structure of their existing copyright acts. In doing so these implementations essentially kick the can down the road with regards to figuring out how the conflicting requirements to filter (17(4)) and requirements to ensure that legal uploads are not filtered out (17(7)) can be reconciled. In the end, none of these implementation proposals offer a convincing mechanism for ensuring that creators get remunerated and that users’ rights are not violated. On the other hand, we have the German approach that proposes to implement Article 17 via a separate “copyright-service-provider law” (“Urgeberrechts Diensteanbieter Gesetz”) that substantially departs from the language in an attempt to capture the structure and effet utile of the directive. Click here for more.
