Category Africa Group Work Plan Proposal

A Great Week at WIPO

[Teresa Hackett] The 43rd session of WIPO's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), that sets international copyright law and policy, took place in Geneva from 13 - 17 March 2023. More than 35 civil society advocates from five continents (Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America), members of the recently formed coalition on Access to Knowledge (A2K), participated in the meeting. The results were positive. I was there throughout the week representing EIFL with Dick Kawooya, University of South Carolina, USA, and expert advisor Professor Anthony Kakooza, Makerere University, Uganda. Here are the highlights.

Highlights from WIPO’s 43rd Meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights

[Sean Flynn] The 43rd Meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights made substantial progress on issues of concern to a newly formed Access to Knowledge Coalition https://www.a2k-coalition.org/ These include the adoption of a work programme on limitations and exceptions, progress on the limitations and exceptions provision in the draft broadcast treaty, and the reviving of a second meeting of the SCCR. These advances were promoted in part by changes in representation from Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Argentina and the continuing expertise and leadership within the African Group. 

Report of SCCR/42 on Limitations and Exceptions and the African Group Work Plan Proposal

[Andrés Izquierdo] The last WIPO-SCCR/42 discussions focused on the African Group Work Plan proposal, the revised draft broadcasting treaty, and limitations and exceptions (L&Es) in favor of libraries, archives, museums, educational institutions, research institutions, and people with disabilities. The primary SCCR outcomes on L&Es enclosed approval of two points of the African Group Work Plan proposal, including future presentations on cross-border copyright issues linked to online education and research practices, and developing toolkits supporting education, research, and preservation of cultural heritage.