Post on 27-Mar-2015
Exceptions & Limitations and
Access to Knowledge
Hala EssalmawiAttorney at law & IPR officer
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The Old Library of Alexandria
The Arab/Islamic Civilization
A number of distinct features of the modern library were introduced in the Islamic world, where libraries not only served as a collection of manuscripts as was the case in ancient libraries, but also as a public library and lending library, a centre for the instruction and spread of sciences and ideas, a place for meetings and discussions, ….. The concept of the library catalogue was also introduced in medieval Islamic libraries, where books were organized into specific genres and categories.
Micheau, Francoise, "The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East", in (Morelon & Rashed 1996)
Access and Restrictions
• Access to Knowledge Civilization
• Restrictions Decline
The Genesis of IP Laws
Ex oriente lux, ex occidente lex.(From the East came the light, from the West law.)
George Sarton ,The Life of Science. Henry Schuman, New York.
Access to Knowledge
Access to Knowledge issues gained
momentum during the past few years. Hence,
“Access” issue has became a pressing item on
the agenda of many states and stakeholders
both in developing and developed countries.
A step Before A2K
• Difficulties facing developing countries to “Access”
• Do they have the infrastructure to “Access” the printed and digital resources
Access and Disseminate Knowledge
Options: Exceptions & Limitations (E&L)
Alternatives: e.g. FOSS & CC
E&L in International Conventions
- The Berne Convention (1886)
- The TRIPS Agreement (1994)
- WIPO Copyright Treaty (1996)
Temporal Limitation
The term of Protection:-Copyright Protection is limited in time.
- International standard: Life of the Author + 50 years. (BERNE & TRIPS)
Free Uses
- Certain acts may, in circumstances specified in the law, be done without the authorization of the copyright owner- Examples:
reproduction of a work exclusively for the personal and private use
making quotations from a protected work (provided that the source of the quotation is mentioned and that the extent of the quotation is compatible with fair practice)
Compulsory License
The Paris Appendix (1971) of the Berne Convention permits developing countries to issue compulsory licenses for the reproduction of copyrighted material “for use in relation to certain systematic instructional activities” and for the translation of copyrighted material into a language of general use in the authorizing country.
Article 13 of TRIPS (Article 9 (2) of Berne)
“Members shall confine limitations or
exceptions to exclusive rights to certain special
cases which do not conflict with a normal
exploitation of the work and do not
unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests
of the right holder”
WIPO Copyright Treaty
WIPO Copyright Treaty
• Extends E & L into the Digital Environment (Article 10)
Recent Developments the Global Level
• Development Agenda in WIPO 2004
(the 45 Recommendations on 2007)
• Chile’s proposal on E and L at WIPO’s Standing
Committee on Copyright 2005
• Many studies in E & L (WIPO studies)
WIPO Director General opening statementAssemblies of the Member States of WIPO, Gen. 22 Sep. 2009
“The question is not so much the objective of the system, but the means of achieving that objective amid the convergence of the digital environment. The evidence suggests that the current means are suffering severe stress. In the case of music, for example, according to industry estimations, 40 billion files of music were illegally file-shared on the Internet in 2008, a piracy rate of 95%.”
An Upside to Copyright Infringement
Valuable business outcomes may be achieved as a result of the infringement:
1. The distribution of material on YouTube from the late-night variety show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” garnered millions of views of posted content, and following some posts, increased viewership of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on ABC by as much as 15 to 20%.
2. At the end of March 2009, Walt Disney’s television division announced it had developed plans to distribute content on YouTube.
3. Copyright holders may find that they can transform the infringement into opportunities they would never have otherwise envisioned.
Source: http://www.micronomics.com/articles/intellectualproperty_5.pdf
Alternatives
This is why beside the E&L we need to promote
and encourage the New tools to Access and
disseminate Knowledge.
©
V. S.
All rights reserved No rights reserved
©
Legal Illegal
Absolute Control
Enforcement
No Control
Violation
Some rightsReserved
Reasonable Copyright
Legal
Source: http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Metrics, content on this site is licensed under a CC attribution 3.0 License
Approximate Minimum Total CC Licensed Works as of July 2008:~130milion
Approximate Minimum Total CC Licensed Works as of July 2009: ~250 million
Source: http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Metrics, content on this site is licensed under a CC attribution 3.0 License
Final Remarks
Recommendations:
Awareness, have a comprehensive policy for Education and Libraries to promote A2K
BA A2K project Activities:
Seminars, workshops, publications, translated materials, etc….. www.bibalex.org
Alexandria A2K Seminar
New Tools for the
Dissemination of Knowledge
and Promotion of Innovation
and Creativity 6-8 Sep.06 Objectives Recommendation Follow up
www.bibalex.org/a2k
Intellectual Property And New Tools For The Dissemination Of Knowledge
Patent: Impact on Developing Countries
Intellectual Property and The Digital Age
hala.essalmawi@bibalex.orgwww.bibalex.org/a2k
Thank you!