Category Events

New Partnerships – A Right to Research in Africa

[Teresa Hackett] A major conference co-organized by EIFL, with national and international partners, took place in South Africa on 23-27 January 2023. ‘A Right to Research in Africa? A Week of Debates on Copyright and Access to Knowledge’ was attended by over 280 legal academics, researchers, librarians, policy-makers and Geneva-based diplomats from over a dozen countries in Africa and beyond. It was the first time these diverse groups, connected by a common interest in copyright, came together to hear and to learn from each other about the copyright framework needed to support modern research.

STEPS FORWARD FOR COPYRIGHT EXCEPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH AT THE WIPO SCCR 43 AGENDA

[Deborah De Angelis] From March 13th to 17th, 2023, the 43rd meeting of the WIPO SCCR was held in Geneva, where significant advancements have been achieved by the Committee with the adoption of a work program on exceptions and limitations based on the Proposal by the African Group for a Draft Work Program on Exceptions and Limitations (SCCR/43/8). The program is supported by the Access to Knowledge Coalition (A2K), to which Communia Association and Creative Commons Italy Chapter are members together with numerous other associations representing educators, researchers, students, libraries, archives, museums, other knowledge users and creative communities in the world.

South Centre Supports Debates on Developments in Copyright Law and Access to Knowledge in Africa

[Vitor Ido] A conference “A Right to Research in Africa? A Week of Debates on Copyright and Access to Knowledge” took place on 23-27 January 2023 at the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town, South Africa. The gathering of scholars, artists, librarians, researchers and government officials had the objective to discuss the evolution of copyright law and the role of limitations and exceptions (L&Es) to advance research in Africa. The week of debates was co-organized by the South Centre, ReCreate South Africa, Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) – American University Washington College of Law, Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL), the University of Pretoria – Future Africa, the University of Cape Town – IP Unit, the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) – Strathmore University, Wikimedia Foundation and Masakhane.

How to Promote Research and Education at the Global Level? Takeaways From Our Panel Discussion

[Teresa Nobre] COMMUNIA and Wikimedia Deutschland held a panel discussion on February 15th to discuss whether the new mandatory exceptions in the EU Copyright Directive could serve as a model to solve some of the most pressing international-level problems around education and research. The event started with Marco Giorello, the Head of the Copyright Unit at DG CONNECT of the European Commission, explaining the reasons for introducing mandatory exceptions for education and research purposes at the EU level (from min. 8:55 to min. 20:50). Marco pointed out that both research and education were at the forefront of the Commissions’ discussions on the modernization of the copyright system.

Webinar on Artificial Intelligence, Text- and Data Mining, and Big Data in Kenya

[Electronic Information for Libraries] EIFL is delighted to partner with the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) for a webinar on emerging technologies of Text and Data Mining (TDM), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Big Data. The webinar is organized in cooperation with the Kenya Libraries and Information Services Consortium (KLISC), EIFL’s partner in Kenya, and the Right to Research in International Copyright Law project.

VIDEO: Webinar on Fair Dealing and Other Copyright Exceptions

[Hosted by the Kenya Copyright Board, February 10, 2022] Panelists Joseph Kavulya, Denise Nicholson, Desmond Oriakhogba, Jonathan Band, and Paul Kaindo discuss the following topics: an introduction to fair dealing and other copyright exceptions; the evolution of fair dealing internationally; how Nigeria is updating its copyright exceptions; what does the Kenya Copyright Act state; and Challenges for libraries using copyright exceptions.

Global Congress Side-event – CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – Workshop on copyright and the digital economy

[Pedro Mizukami] InternetLab, Fundación Karisma, and the Ford Foundation would like to invite you to a workshop session on copyright and the digital economy held on October 28 and 29 as part of the 2021 Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest’s #IPWEEK2021. In line with the Global Congress mandate of bridging research and advocacy, the workshop will provide participants with a forum to present materials for feedback and discussion, in a structured, dynamic format, with opportunities for publication in two different tracks.

Call for Submissions: #IPWeek Workshop on Copyright and the Digital Economy

InternetLab, Fundación Karisma, and the Ford Foundation would like to invite you to a workshop session on copyright and the digital economy held on October 28 and 29 as part of the 2021 Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest’s #IPWEEK2021. In line with the Global Congress mandate of bridging research and advocacy, the workshop will provide participants with a forum to present materials for feedback and discussion, in a structured, dynamic format, with opportunities for publication in two different tracks. Deadline - October 14, 2021.

Call for Proposals: Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest #IPWeek2021

From July 26 to September 10, the call for proposals will be open for the collaborative agenda of #IPWeek2021, Intellectual Property Week, the Public Interest, and COVID-19: learnings, discoveries, and challenges. This new version of Intellectual Property, Public Interest and COVID-19 Week will address the lessons and discoveries that the COVID-19 pandemic left to society, and future challenges in the post-pandemic period, in the relationship framework between intellectual property and the public interest.

Save the Date – Global Congress #IPWeek2021 – October 25-29

[Fundación Karisma] The organizers of the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest will host an #IPWeek October 25-29, 2021. A call-for-proposals will be open soon, and in this edition, we will include a call for creative pieces about the intellectual property / public interest relationship in a post-pandemic world.

International Research Organizations Support WTO TRIPS Waiver for COVID-19

Over 250 organizations and prominent researchers and experts, representing millions of researchers, educators, libraries, and support organizations globally, call for reduction of copyright barriers to COVID-19 prevention, containment and treatment. Their statement, released today, calls particular attention to the need to include copyright rules within the waiver. Supporters of the Statement are holding an online public event and press conference Monday March 22, 9am EDT / 1pm UTC.