The summer course was held at the majestic setting of Amsterdam’s Royal Tropical Institute and divided into nine seminars, given during morning or afternoon sessions. Every seminar focused on one specific issue of copyright law, which participants explored in depth with top ranking lecturers on international copyright issues from the Netherlands, USA and Belgium. With their input the participants gained valuable insight in the most crucial current issues of copyright law, examined from a comparative law perspective and in the light of recent international and regional agreements.

The course is aimed for post-graduate professionals, who already have some experience working in the field of copyright law or within industries, reliant upon copyright. This years’ seminar saw a mixed array of participants – lawyers, academics, researchers, employees at WIPO and the EU Commission, Ph.D. students and Google staff members. To level the playing field and bring the participants, not so familiar with copyright law, up to speed professors Bernt Hugenholtz and Stef van Gompel delivered lessons on international copyright law basics, EU case law and EU copyright reform. Professor Daniel Garvais offered a captivating insight into trade agreements and collective management of rights, and professor Pamela Samuelson provided a much needed review of copyright exceptions, a topic which continuously sparked intense debate among the participants, especially in the light of the much criticized and complex upcoming EU copyright reform, one of the hottest issues (besides GDPR) on the EU legal horizon this year. Legal practitioner Thomas Vinje and former Legal Director Copyright at Google Fred von Lohmann wrapped up the seminar week with intensely interesting glimpses into practical issues of copyright vs. competition law and digital copyright frontiers, where law has a hard time keeping pace with the rapidly progressing digital world.

The summer course offers a unique opportunity to have an almost private sit-in with world class legal experts, debate and network with participants from various countries and backgrounds and enjoy the vibe of Amsterdam in summer. Find out more and maybe apply for next years’ event.