Professor Sean Fiil-Flynn, Director of the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, American University Washington College of Law, and Professor Klaus Beiter, Professor of Law, North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, submitted comments to the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) related to the annual review of the eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) – Docket No. USTR-2023-0003.

In this submission, Sean Fiil-Flynn and Professor Klaus Beiter, representing the Global Expert Network on Copyright User Rights, counter the claims made by the IIPA regarding South Africa’s compliance with international copyright treaties. They highlight their involvement in the copyright reform process in South Africa and emphasize that the proposed reforms, including a U.S. style fair use exception and fair remuneration rights, are in line with international law. The authors stress that the complained-of bill has not been enacted, and even if enacted, it would not breach international agreements. They urge the USTR to consider the reforms positively, as they align with digital copyright protection requirements for joining WIPO treaties. They call for an affirmative statement from the USTR to dispel misinformation in the South African press.

See submission here.

The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA), composed of two prominent U.S. library associations, namely the American Library Association and the Association of Research Libraries, has also presented its comments to the USTR on the matter. See submission here.