The World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) will be meeting in Geneva to discuss the legislative frameworks needed by libraries to fulfil their missions, as well as questions around broadcasting and the rights of authors and creators in the digital age. 

Through its engagement over almost 20 years, IFLA has made the case at WIPO for lawmakers to ensure that in setting copyright frameworks, the interests of researchers, educators, learners, wider communities and the libraries that serve them are taken into account.

Key items on the agenda at this meeting include:

  • Limitations and exceptions, and how to advance towards outputs that will bring all countries to have effective provisions for libraries, as well as that will enable cross-border collaboration. We have a particular focus on preservation and access to preserved content as the most mature items on the agenda
  • A draft broadcasting treaty, which some want to conclude, but which includes elements that could be potentially harmful for libraries in our work to preserve and give access audiovisual heritage
  • A study on Public Lending Right, which explores different aspects of such schemes, primarily in Europe
  • Discussions around the status of artists in the digital environment, and in particular in the face of generative AI

Throughout our interventions, IFLA will underline how libraries are at the heart of a balanced copyright system that safeguards author incomes, while also ensuring access to knowledge.

IFLA will be represented by our head of WIPO delegation Sara Benson, and we will work with sister organisations for archives and museums, as well as the wider access to knowledge community. Check out our news story for an overview of the issues.