The International Authors Forum attended the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR35) in Geneva during the week commencing 13th November 2017
The IAF was joined by IAF Member Federazione Unitaria Italiana Scrittori (FUIS) which was approved as an accredited SCCR observer of the non-governmental organisations at the previous session.
The agenda continued the work of previous sessions with the Broadcasting Treaty, Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries & Archives, Limitations and Exceptions for Educational and research institutions and for persons with other disabilities and a proposal for analysis of Copyright Related to the Digital Environment. The study on limitations and exceptions for persons with disabilities other than print disabilities was supported with further presentations by Professor Caroline Ncube of the University of Cape Town and Professor Blake Reid from the University of Colorado on their scoping study. Following on from the SCCR34 which had a conference on and discussion on the Artist’s Resale Right, this session featured a proposal from Senegal and Congo to include the Artists Resale Right in the agenda of Future work by the SCCR.
A presentation by Professor Daniel Seng on the Updated Study and Additional Analysis of the Study on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Educational Activities took place looking at, among other issues, the application of limitations and exceptions to enable the use of adaptations and translations of educational activities, the scope of provisions that restrict or limit the copyright liability of educational institutions and the application of provisions that limit the scope of contracts that seek to override the copyright limitations and exceptions for educational activities.
The Economic Implications of the Artist’s Resale Right was presented to the Meeting once again indicating that the implications of the Artist’s Resale Right do not negatively affect the art market in any particular location and that there is no reason to suspect this will change with the introduction of such a right.
The International Authors Forum made two interventions during the SCCR in support of the right of authors to make a living from their work with regard to copyright exceptions for libraries and archives and to support the proposal from Senegal and Congo for Artist’s Resale Right.