Category Limitations and Exceptions

South Africa’s Proposed Copyright Fair Use Right Should Be a Model for the World

[Sean Flynn, Michael W. Carroll, Peter Jaszi, Ariel Katz, Leandro Mendonça, Diane Peters, and Allan Rocha de Souza] Copyright laws the world over are under massive pressure to reform to fit the digital environment. One key area often in need of reform is in the exceptions to copyright that enable the digital practices. Without exceptions, common practices may be illegal, such as sharing photos on social media, making technical copies to send and stream, and uploading excerpts to closed networks for student access. None of these and dozens of other digital issues were considered when most of our laws were drafted in the 1970s. South Africa is on the cusp of reforming its law with a new hybrid exception that contains both a set of modern specific exceptions for various purposes and an open general exception that can be used to assess any use not specifically authorized.

The First Rule of Copyright Reform: Don’t Mess With Free Speech and Net Neutrality

... What distinguishes the European copyright reform experience from others and what lessons might be learned for future efforts around the world? One takeaway is that there are presently two kinds of copyright reforms. The first involves a conventional balancing of copyright interests, typically framed as creator rights on the one hand and users’ rights on the other. Ensuring both appropriate compensation and reasonable rights of access and reuse are invariably contentious, but they are largely limited to copyright-related considerations... This stands in marked contrast to the second kind of copyright reform, which uses law to mandate copyright enforcement through regulating technology and digital networks. Those proposals have implications that extend far beyond the copyright balance, sparking concerns related to freedom of expression, privacy, and net neutrality.

Comments of the Global Expert Network on Copyright User Rights and Creative Commons Corporation (HQ) on South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill (2017) [B13-2017]

We commend Parliament for its forward-looking copyright amendments that will assist South African creators and users of copyrighted works benefit from the digital age. We commend you as well for the open public process through which you have drafted the bill. We support the specific textual suggestions included in the ReCreateSA submission. We provide the following comments focusing on Section 12 of the draft Copyright Amendment Bill, and in particular the “fair use” provision in 12B.

Permitted Uses in Copyright Law – Is There Need for an International Instrument?

[Reto Hilty and Valentina Moscon] Abstract: As a follow-up project to the “Declaration on a Balanced Interpretation of the Three-Step Test” (2008), the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition has coordinated an international group of world-renowned copyright experts to produce a legal instrument (possibly in the form of an international agreement) containing a nucleus of indispensable copyright-permitted uses that States should be obliged to implement in their legislations. With the purpose of counterbalancing the current international trend in copyright law, characterised by its “minimal protection approach”, concrete provisions and extended explanatory notes are provided to foster a “minimal limitation approach”.

Fair and Flexible: What We Can Learn from Canadian Copyright Law

[Savannah van Dongen]  With the EU and other states looking to modernise copyright law for the digital era, education exceptions in copyright law are a hot topic. Particularly, the second paragraph of Article 4 of the proposed directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market that gives room to educational licenses is being contested by educators, learners, and educational organisations. Canadian copyright law includes the doctrine of “fair dealing” — a unique version of a common exception.

Time Is running Out to Defend User Rights Online

[Wikimedia Policy Team] This week, a dangerous copyright proposal passed a critical committee vote in the European Parliament. Article 13 of the proposed new copyright directive would require websites that host large amounts of user-generated content to apply mandatory filters to every user upload, searching for copyright infringements. This would institute new automatic gatekeepers between a user’s creation and their chosen platform, threatens internet users’ right to free expression and creates a system ripe for abuse and censorship.

Action at WIPO!

[Teresa Hackett] ...The 36th meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the global body that sets international copyright law and policy, ...took place from 28 May to 1 June 2018. During the busy week, EIFL engaged in discussions on libraries and archives, made interventions in plenary sessions, met with member state delegates and collaborated with NGO partners. During SCCR/36, member states approved an action plan on libraries, archives, museums, and education, delegates heard about the ‘teachers’ dilemma’ for quality education, NGOs issued an open letter to negotiators on the proposed broadcast treaty, and the Secretariat held a consultation meeting on the WIPO Good Practice Toolkit for CMOs.

South African Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry Debates a General Copyright Exception

The South African Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry has released its report on its most recent copyright reform debate. The summary notes: "An area of major contention was whether the Copyright Act should be based on the ‘fair use’ or the ‘fair dealing’ principle. The Committee strongly favoured ‘the fair use’ principle but with exceptions to manage the openness of the system... "

Letter from 147 Organisations EU Member State Ambassadors Asking Council to Stop a Rushed EU Copyright Reform

We, the undersigned, are writing to you ahead of your COREPER discussion on the proposed Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market. We are deeply concerned that the text proposed by the Bulgarian Presidency in no way reflects a balanced compromise, whether on substance or from the perspective of the many legitimate concerns that have been raised. Instead, it represents a major threat to the freedoms of European citizens and businesses and promises to severely harm Europe’s openness, competitiveness, innovation, science, research and education.

Statement on Limitations and Exceptions for WIPO Broadcast Treaty

Thank you chair. I want to speak quickly to the issue of limitations and exceptions for the Broadcast treaty should one proceed. We should not be using a 20 year old model that ignores the many advancements in this area. With all due respect, both the chair’s text and the proposal by Argentina and Brazil at the last round are unduly limited. They do not include mandatory exceptions from other agreements, including Berne and Marrakesh. Nor do they consider the needs of libraries, archives, museums or for education or research activities currently in discussion in this committee. Nor do they include the best examples of provisions protecting domestic policy space.

South African Creators Form Re-Create ZA to Advocate for Balanced Copyright Reform

[Tusi Fokane and Ben Cashdan] A new organization of South African creators has formed to press their views in favor of balanced copyright provisions in the ongoing amendment process. ReCreateZA (www.re-createza.org) represents a broad coalition of creatives, including “writers, filmmakers, photographers, educational content producers, software and video game developers, technology entrepreneurs, artists, poets, producers of accessible format materials and other South African creators.”

Lesotho Becomes the 37th Country to Join the Marrakesh Treaty for Persons With Print Disabilities

[Electronic Information for Libraries] On 30 April 2018 the Kingdom of Lesotho became the 37th country in the world and the ninth country in Africa to join the Marrakesh Treaty. The Treaty will enter into force in Lesotho on 30 July 2018. Speaking at the 39th Session of the General Conference of UNESCO on 1 November 2017, the Honourable Mokhele Moletsane, Minister of Education and Training in Lesotho, explained why his country would be joining the Treaty: “Access to knowledge is a human right. It is necessary to achieve full human potential and inclusive development because it opens doors to education, employment, improved health, and social and political participation. However, the lack of published works in formats that are accessible to persons with print disabilities (known as the ‘book famine’), means that the right to read and acquire knowledge is often out of reach for those who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled.