On Monday, 16th July, the 24rd meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) opened in Geneva. During the next ten day, the 185 WIPO Member States will discuss copyright flexibilities for visually impaired and print disabled people, for libraries and archives and for education and research.

The first day started discussing copyright flexibilities for education. Winston Tabb, Head of the IFLA and library delegation, stressed in his statement to the committee that “education and libraries go hand in hand. An excellent education service depends on good libraries.”

IFLA believes that education and lifelong learning are key public policy issues which can only properly be addressed through international norms.

With regard to the discussions on the visually impaired and print disabled people and on libraries and archives, Winston Tabb urged the committee “to move forward expeditiously to recommend a diplomatic conference on the treaty for visually impaired and print disabled people, as well as on the proposals made by Member States concerning libraries and archives and education in the order of their maturity”.

Since 2008, IFLA is working with WIPO Member States to gain support for a binding international instrument on copyright flexibilities to enable libraries to preserve their collections, support education and research, and lend materials.

Read the joint statements made by IFLA, EIFL and CLA:

Opening Statement (submitted to the WIPO Secretariat for inclusion in the final report) [PDF]
Education statement (orally presented at the SCCR/24) [PDF]