Category Limitations and Exceptions

TERA Presentation at SCCR 37 Workshop on “Toward Action With Respect to the Limitations and Exceptions Regime”

Jon Band and I were asked by the education and research beneficiary groups to work with them to draft model instruments that would reflect the work of the SCCR thus far and contribute to the development of an international instrument on education and research exceptions to copyright. The result of this project is the Civil Society Proposed Treaty on Educational and Research Activities (TERA). We release the Draft Treaty at the World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights for the first time today. Here I describe briefly our methodology in creating the draft and the main provisions of it. Further information is available at http://infojustice.org/tera  

Communia Endorses Treaty on Education and Research, And Asks Others to Follow Suit

[Teresa Nobre] Communia has endorsed the Civil Society Proposed Treaty on Copyright Exceptions and Limitations on Education and Research Activities (TERA), and asks others to follow suit, ahead of the 37th session of WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). SCCR/37 will take place from 26 – 30 November in Geneva, and civil society advocates will propose that the treaty’s provisions be considered as a model for future text-based work by the committee... The proposed treaty aims to establish minimum standards for copyright exceptions for educational and research purposes, while at the same time affording countries significant flexibility in how to implement these obligations.

A TREATY ON COPYRIGHT EXCEPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES (TERA)

39 education and research organizations, including the 30 million members of Education International, are calling upon the World Intellectual Property Organization to adopt a Treaty on Copyright Exceptions and Limitations for Educational and Research Activities (TERA). TERA is open for endorsement by organizations and individuals. The Treaty was adopted at the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest on September 27, 2018, and released in revised form this week. The Treaty is the result of extensive consultation with numerous Member States and stakeholders in the education and research field, including at multiple workshops around the world.

Global Copyright Reform Efforts – As Told By Libraries, Museums, and Archives

American University’s Washington College of Law hosted the 5th Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest. A workshop led by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) entitled “Out of the Stacks: A World Tour of Library, Archive, and Museum Copyright Reform” featured a panel, which discussed current and future copyright reform efforts in several countries. The panel highlighted laws that lack clarity or are inadequate to meet modern needs. Many advocated for efforts to create provisions that are essential to libraries, museums, archives, and other cultural heritage institutions. Without these provisions, many of these institutions are unable to provide access to certain copyrighted works, which the public has come to enjoy.

Submission by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) on the Statutory Review of the Canadian Copyright Act

[Gerald Leitner] IFLA specifically expresses support for the following points: A) Maintain the fair dealing exception for education... B) Retain the current copyright term of 50 years... C) Protect copyright exceptions from contract override and allow the circumvention of technological protection measures for non-infringing purposes... D) Provide clarity on the legal status of text and data mining (TDM)... E) Ensure e-book availability... F) Indigenous Knowledge.

Briefing Paper: A Treaty on Copyright Exceptions and Limitations for Educational and Research Activities

The World Intellectual Property Organization has long recognized the importance of copyright exceptions to education and research.... However, there is great disparity in WIPO member states concerning the adequacy of exceptions for education and research. In particular, the exceptions in many developing countries are insufficient to meet their pressing needs, in accordance with the United Nation’s sustainable development goal of quality education. Accordingly, a treaty on copyright exceptions and limitations for educational and research activities is necessary to establish global norms in this critical area.

When Copyright Meets the Public Interest: A Week at the 5th Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest

[International Federation of Library Associations] Seven years ago, at the first Global Congress, the Washington Declaration was adopted: a text by civil society that underlines the importance of the public interest within intellectual property conversations. It also makes several recommendations to ensure, for instance, that exceptions and limitations to copyright are strengthened, that the public domain’s openness is valued, and that cultural creativity is supported. Now, a couple of years later, much progress had been made but there is much left to do to achieve its goals. The Global Congress contributes to that. It is a forum for discussion on the intersection between intellectual property (copyright, patents, etc.) and the public interest.

Endorse the Civil Society Proposed Treaty on Copyright Exceptions for Educational and Research Activities

Today, we release a treaty proposal to take another step toward the goal of a set of binding norms that require all countries to make research and learning materials available for use by all, whenever such use is in accord with the time-tested copyright principle of “fair practice.” The Civil Society Proposed Treaty on Copyright Exceptions for Educational and Research Activities has been endorsed by 15 civil society and research organizations at the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest. It is open for review and endorsement

What’s Going on With the EU Copyright Reform for Education?

[Lisette Kalshoven] The next major step in the EU copyright reform process is the vote scheduled for 12 September, when the entire European Parliament (about 750 people) will vote on amendments that are being put forward until 5 September. They will vote on amendments to the text put forward by the European Commission, which was shared back in 2016. The JURI report, which was rejected on 5 July by the parliament had several improvements for the education exception on article 4. It was, however, not nearly enough to truly make copyright work for education in Europe. For the purpose of the vote on 12 September, we need to work with the Commission text. Below we will share the three most important things to fix.

EU Copyright Law and the Cloud: VCAST and the Intersection of Private Copying and Communication to the Public

[João Pedro Quintais and Tito Rendas] Abstract: This article examines the applicability of the private copying exception to cloud services against the backdrop of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the Opinion of Advocate General (AG) Szpunar in Case C-265/16, VCAST. The case raises the question of whether the exception protects services of an online platform allowing users to store copies of free-to-air TV programmes in private cloud storage spaces. The AG’s proposed answer was to consider that cloud copying could generally be covered by the exception, but the specific service of VCAST could not. The CJEU focused on VCAST’s service only, largely following AG Szpunar’s conclusion.

Copyright User Rights and Remedies: An Access to Justice Perspective

[Pascale Chapdelaine] Abstract: In contemporary copyright law, there is an ongoing debate around the nature and scope of the rights users should have to copyright works, exacerbated by ongoing technological developments. Within that debate, this article queries the value of looking at the remedies users may have against copyright holders restricting their legitimate uses of works, as a means to further elucidate the nature and scope of user rights. While there is some value in looking at remedies to situate copyright user rights, an access to justice perspective to rights and remedies suggests that such approach may be too limiting with respect to the position of potential claimants in a legal system.