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The 39th meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights saw the shape of a possible agreement on preservation emerge, but also continued opposition from countries denying the reality of cross-border collaboration between libraries.
A lot of advocacy work focuses on trying to change laws in order to improve the situation for libraries. However, there can be alterantives to legal reform as a recent example from Australia shows. IFLA interviewed Sue McKerracher, CEO of the Australian Library and Information Association to find out more.
Since the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty, IFLA has been monitoring how countries make it a reality. Today we publish the fourth update of the Marrakesh Monitoring Report, which looks into countries that have signed or ratified the Treaty since January 2019 and the way they are implementing it nationally.
African countries have very different copyright laws, all at various stages of development and/or review. Some countries have very outdated copyright laws, whilst others have amended their copyright laws more recently, or are in the process of reviewing them, for example, Kenya and South Africa. IFLA and partner organisations advocated for adequate and balanced copyright laws for libraries, archives, museums, research and education at the WIPO regional seminar for the African region.
On 17 May 2019, after several years of discussion, the European Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market was published in the official journal of the European Union. It enters into force on 20 June 2019, which marks the beginning of a two-year period for member states to change their laws in order to meet the objectives of the directive.
The Spanish government recently implemented two European directives: the Marrakesh Directive, and the Collective Management Directive. The bill that transposed these two pieces of legislation came with unexpected proposals on the topic of public lending rights. The chair of the copyright group at the Spanish Library Association (FESABID) tells us about the recent changes:
We had a chat with Wend Wendland, Director of the WIPO Traditional Knowledge Division, to find out more both about the division and the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore’s work plan.
The Council of the European Union has now also adopted the European Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. After the entry into force of the text in a few weeks, a period of national implementation will start. IFLA, alongside partner organisations, will now engage with members at the national level to get the best outcome for libraries.
ELending is becoming increasingly important and is already well-established in many countries. While jurisdictions approach the lending of eBooks and other digital material in many different ways, licensing is often part of the equation. And with that, challenges arise for the library sector.
It’s time to look back at a of week global discussions on copyright at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). There were useful new reports and materials, signs of consensus on all sides that exceptions and limitations are an essential part of the copyright framework, and further proof that action is needed to allow libraries to work across borders.
IFLA will be in Geneva from 1 to 5 April to engage once again with representatives from all over the world on exceptions and limitations to copyright for libraries.
IFLA has issued a brief on open educational resources, building on the recent UNESCO recommendation. This underlines the role librarians can play in creating, curating and ensuring access to these materials, and key issues surrounding them.
2019 will be a key year to show what libraries around the world need from copyright laws. A series of regional seminars organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation will bring together senior officials, and IFLA will be there.
This week, 89 organisations, defenders of freedom of expression and freedom of access to information, co-signed a letter asking for the deletion of controversial articles in the proposed European Copyright Directive. IFLA, who had already openly underlined the threat posed by these provisions to access to information, is among the signatories. There is right now momentum for their deletion.
IFLA has today published an update to its Marrakesh Monitoring Report. This sets out which countries have ratified or acceded to the Treaty, and which have taken the necessary steps at the national level to make it a reality. It underlines the need for continued attention at the national level to make a reality of the promise of Marrakesh.
IFLA and EIFL have addressed a letter of congratulation to the Prime Minister of Thailand, following the passage of legislation that will bring the country into line with the Marrakesh Treaty.
IFLA is just back from another exciting week at the World Intellectual Property Organization, where United Nations Member States discussed how to move forwards on exceptions and limitations to copyright for libraries and other topics
Ahead of further debate around the South African Copyright Amendment Bill, IFLA would like to share views on a number of issues raised by some stakeholders around the proposed legislation. Although the Bill is well underway, and there is positive progress on several library-related topics, there is concern that issues raised by a few stakeholders might slow down or undermine progress.
Copyright is a core element of libraries’ work, and this is why IFLA is an active advocate for better copyright laws. Our engagement at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is a key part of this. WIPO’s copyright committee (SCCR) meets twice a year and has capacity to legislate on several matters. The topic of exceptions and limitations to copyright for libraries, archives and museums are on the table for discussion. The next meeting is getting closer: 26-30 November.
At the recently celebrated General Assemblies, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)’s Director General Francis Gurry underlined the success of the Marrakesh treaty, which he says, “is moving at a rate that exceeds that of any other Treaty in this organisation”.