Day October 8, 2018

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.

Author-Centered Copyright Enforcement?

ABSTRACT: This Symposium explores our flexibility within international copyright law to better serve the purposes of copyright and, specifically, to benefit the individual human creators (authors) of our cultural and intellectual heritage. Where other contributions consider the potential for a different allocation of rights, here I explore the potential for author-centered copyright enforcement:  could we frame copyright enforcement practices and remedies with the explicit goal of promoting the interests of authors?  Could enforcement reform avoid the zero-sum game that pits homogenous and undifferentiated “copyright interests” (authors and publishers) against the rest of the world (commercial infringers, users, intermediaries, and others)?  The international legal framework governing copyright enforcement is relatively open-textured.  It is worth at least considering whether we could tailor civil enforcement procedures and remedies so that authors can win without ever more draconian enforcement.