Temporary waiver of intellectual property rights should not apply only to patents
COVID 19 jumps over all the walls and does not know the difference between rich and poor, and this is why solidarity is necessary, even through the temporary waiver of intellectual property rights. When will the EU follow this example? And why it’s important that the waiver doesn’t apply just to patents. This was explained by dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič to Nataša Briška and Aljaž Pengov Bitenc, who invited her to the European Quarter.
In October last year, India and the Republic of South Africa proposed to temporarily waiver of intellectual property rights under TRIPS in order to overcome COVID-19. Developed countries were not in favor of this proposal. In May, however, the US administration surprised and supported the efforts of underdeveloped countries with a statement of a representative of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office Katherine Tai. Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič sees the US move as reasonable, yet she pointed out that patents alone are not an obstacle in the fight against COVID-19. The EU must now take the right step.
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The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that maintains the Open Library, a digital library index, and is dedicated to preserving knowledge. As many of the works in the Internet Archive are under copyright, the Archive uses a system of controlled digital lending based on digital rights management to prevent unauthorized downloading or copying of copyrighted books. In March 2020, due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet Archive established the National Emergency Library, eliminating the waiting lists used in the Open Library and expanding access to books for all readers. In June 2020, the Emergency National Library faced a lawsuit from four book publishers and was ultimately closed.
The 43rd session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (hereinafter SCCR) made substantial progress on the issues advocated by the A2K Coalition (Access to Knowledge Coalition), which IPI is a member of. This year’s session was the most productive on the issues of exceptions and limitations. James Love (Knowledge Ecology International), a long-time observer at WIPO, described the outcome and the impact of the public interest community as the strongest since the conclusion of the Marrakech Treaty, which brought global copyright exceptions for the benefit of the blind and visually impaired.
Today, March 17, 2023, a symposium on law in the information society is taking place in the golden lecture hall of the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana. Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič will present copyright aspects of artificial intelligence at the symposium.
The third day of the 43rd session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is intended for discussion on the topic of exceptions and limitations to copyright, especially in connection with the right to research.