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

Copyright in the Time of COVID-19: An Australian Perspective

[Amanda Bellenger and Helen Balfour] Abstract: COVID-19 has raised many challenges in terms of applying Australian copyright legislation and related policies to higher education context. This paper describes the experience of Copyright Officers at Curtin University and Murdoch University from the initial stages of border-control measures affecting delivery of learning materials to students in China, to the wider disruption of

Waive Intelletual Property rights and Save Lives

[Srividhya Ragavan] In October of 2020, when India and South Africa proposed a waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS agreement, it was meant to increase local manufacturing capacity in these countries... The waiver has an additional role to play in the larger trade schema. In enabling vaccination of populations across the globe, the waiver would be critical to normalize

EIFL COMMENTS ON NAMIBIAN COPYRIGHT BILL

[Electronic Information for Libraries] Following a National Stakeholder Conference to discuss the new draft Copyright and Related Rights Bill under development in Namibia, EIFL submitted written comments on the Bill to the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA), the body that administers IP (Intellectual Property) rights in Namibia. The existing Copyright Act (1994) has no explicit provisions for libraries or

Singapore’s Copyright Act 2021: New Exception for Computational Uses and Updates to Fair Use and Educational Exceptions

[Mike Palmedo] Singapore's new Copyright Act came into force on November 21. The law was amended to keep up with changes in ICT technology that affect the creation and consumption of copyrighted works. The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore has posted a good overview, and three more detailed descriptions... This post highlights three changes to the limitations and exceptions that

A review of the empirical evidence on copyright exceptions

[Bartolomeo Meletti] Abstract: Exceptions are an essential part of the copyright system. They aim to encourage innovation, serve the public interest or respond to market failures. While extensive theoretical and doctrinal research has examined the history, nature, justification, and judicial interpretation of exceptions, empirical evidence in this area of copyright law is limited. This article aims to synthesise the empirical

Vaccine Knowledge Needs to Be a global Public good

[Ellen 't Hoen] The global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak has laid bare the lack of an effective mechanism for the sharing of IP and technology required to produce the diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines to respond to the pandemic. The WHO established, in May 2020, well before the first vaccines came to market, the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool