Informative study on national solutions for providing access to education within current international copyright framework at WIPO Copyright Committee

Monday 9th – Friday 13th May 2016

IAF, represented by Katie Webb and Maureen Duffy, attended the WIPO Copyright Committee (SCCR) in Geneva.

Member States started the week with discussions about a Broadcasting Treaty, which they are still working towards, although this looks likely to remain unresolved for the time being.

Mid-week, countries moved on to discussing exceptions and limitations to copyright in the areas of libraries, archives and other disabilities, and for education and research institutions.

A study on national provisions for educational exceptions had been conducted and was presented by its author, Professor Daniel Seng. This provides an overview of the national solutions used to provide access to educational materials through copyright limitations and exceptions. It can therefore be useful to countries who do not feel their education systems have adequate access to copyright materials, by demonstrating the ways in which the international copyright framework can be used to provide such access, while supporting the livelihoods of the authors who create educational materials.

Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the African Group, called for all Member States to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in their approaches to the SCCR agenda, in particular in view of the Development Agenda on which WIPO Member States have agreed, which applies to all areas of WIPO’s work.

The end of the week saw discussions of a paper introduced by the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC). The Artist’s Resale Right was also addressed. This right has broad support from the countries represented at WIPO and is also supported by IAF as a way of ensuring the ongoing value generated by artists’ work gets income into their pockets.