Advocating for a world where intellectual
property law serves the public interest.

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

Commissioner Malmström’s Response to Civil Society Concerns Over the Third Country Report on the Protection of IPRs

On 16 April 2018, KEI Europe and 32 groups wrote a letter to the European Commission’s Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, expressing concerns over the Commission’s plans to create an EU Watch List. In the letter, we noted that although the European Union has publicly committed its commitment to support the right of third countries to use the public health safeguards

Brazilian Ministry of Education Publishes OER Ordinance

[Iniciativa Educação Aberta] The Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) published an ordinance on the 16th of may, that determines that any educational resources paid for by the Ministry, which is to be used for basic education (K-12) should be open educational resources, giving permissions for anyone to “access, use, adapt and distribute at no cost”. It further emphasises the importance

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

Fair or Free Use of Copyrighted Materials in Education and Research and the Limit of Such Use

[Muhammad Masum Billah and Saleh Albarashdi] The concept of fair use, fair dealing, or free use of copyrighted works for education and research is incorporated in copyright laws around the world. This is to strike a balance between the private interests of copyright holders and the public interests of students and researchers to use the copyrighted materials in furthering their

Mexican Senate Passes Changes to Copyright Law That Would Censor Content Online

April 27, 2018: Digital rights organisations in Mexico are sounding the alarm after the Senate approved changes to the copyright law that would censor information online. The measures would allow for the preemptive removal of content without having to prove that a copyright infringement has actually taken place. Yesterday the Senate approved the modifications to the Federal Copyright Law, with