Search results

This paper's main purpose is to deepen the general understanding regarding copyright exceptions and limitations as an important balancing tool of copyright law, particularly for developing countries in Africa. It seeks to address the problematic interplay between copyright exceptions and limitations on the one hand and technological protection measures (TPMs) on the other. It then aims to offer a solution for mitigating the potentially detrimental impact of TPMs on otherwise‐permitted uses of copyright‐protected knowledge materials.

The paper's approach is legal doctrinal research that relies exclusively on written texts.

The paper finds that copyright exceptions and limitations are currently in tension with the legal regulation of TPMs and their circumvention. The two do not seem to be optimally balanced, with some African countries having adopted an unduly restrictive legal approach. The paper therefore suggests a more balanced model that is in keeping with developmental ends and human rights concerns.

The paper makes a meaningful contribution by locating the discussion in Africa and providing a suggested equitable legal approach.

To deal with the new circumstances arising in the digital environment, with its particular conditions for the access, distribution and use of intellectual works, three distinct approaches exist: legal (copyright laws are modified to adapt them to the new context), technological (systems designed to control access and use of works), and contractual (through licenses to regulate the conditions of use of the works). The joint use of technological measures and licenses, together with the laws that protect both, are seriously endangering the effectiveness of the limitations to copyright set forth by law to benefit libraries, their users and citizens in general. This represents a strong privatisation of access to information. Using as a point of reference the laws of countries that are on the front lines of this terrain – the USA, the European Union and Australia – some problems created by the new forms of protection of intellectual works are examined.

The problems that the great developments in digital information and the Internet are creating for copyright may be partly solved through new legislation as well as through the implementation of technological systems (generically known as ECMS) that help protect it. These two approaches – legal and technological – interact, as the new copyright laws protect these electronic measures through the prohibition of their circumvention. The contents of the three main legal norms that have regulated this area to date, the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the European Directive and the new Australian Copyright Act, are analysed in an attempt to determine what impact they might have on the traditional limitations and exceptions to copyright (fair use/dealing, private copying, library privileges) that benefit libraries, their users and the general public.

This paper aims to give a snapshot of the copyright and neighboring rights law of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), illustrating the provisions governing the law. It seeks to frame UAE copyright provisions within the context of the principles of copyright and the structure of international copyright protection.

The article begins with an overview of copyright laws. It highlights the central issues of concern to education, librarianship, and scholarship, depicting the complexity that the digital era has brought on copyright doctrines. It then explains the exclusive rights granted under the law, showing its orientation toward the civil law tradition with its emphasis on moral rights.

The author observes that a key effort to making practical sense of copyright in this region entails educating key communities, and emphasizing the importance of copyright limitations and exceptions pertaining to educational institutions and libraries. He advocates for applying copyright to the advantage of academic and research communities, and offers strategies strengthening the right of use in favor of these communities. Understanding the concepts and principles of copyright will make these communities proponents of sound copyright policies that will safeguard the promotion of learning and the right of public access, while still protecting intellectual property rights.

There has not been any discussion in the library literature on copyright in the UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Therefore, this case study of the UAE copyright and neighboring rights law aims to provoke such discussion. It should be useful to the whole library community, and particularly those in the UAE and other GCC countries.

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the current Korean copyright law and its effect on electronic document delivery services in Korea, and to recommend solutions for Korean libraries and information centers.

The authors present information based on their own professional experience at a national document supply center.

Korean libraries have five options for pursuing copyright clearance for materials published outside of Korea: negotiate an agreement directly with publishers; establish an agreement with, and pay royalties to, copyright collectives; establish bilateral treaties with national copyright collectives; establish a framework agreement with the organizations representing copyright holders; and incorporate extended collective licensing into the Korean copyright law.

The Korean copyright law was amended in 2011 and this paper presents the most current research on the law's impact on electronic document delivery services in Korea.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the copyright law in relation to access to information by persons with visual impairments. It assesses the barriers placed by the copyright law on access to information by the visually impaired persons, and then the exceptions and limitations therein with a specific focus on Marrakesh treaty. It further explores the benefits conveyed by the Marrakesh treaty in relation to the challenges. Finally, the paper makes suggestions on methods that can be employed to make the Marrakesh treaty benefit the persons with visual impairments to the fullest.

The paper reviews the copyright law and its requirements in relation to reproduction of copyrighted works, and then narrows down to the provisions of Marrakesh treaty as an exception in the copyright law. It then reviews existing literature on the challenges caused by copyright requirements on access to information by persons with visual impairments. Having looked at these two aspects, the paper then identifies from literature the benefits that come in the Marrakesh treaty in relation to access to copyrighted information by persons with visual impairments. Authors finally give their views on what can be done to make the treaty more beneficial to the visually impaired persons.

The paper finds that a there are many challenges that persons with visual impairments face while they seek to access information that is copyrighted, and these challenges cause both direct and indirect negative effects. However, looking at the provisions of the Marrakesh treaty against these challenges, the paper identifies the benefits that come with the treaty to avert the challenges.

This paper does an in-depth analysis of the copyright-related challenges that persons with visual impairments face while accessing copyrighted information, and derives solutions to these challenges from the Marrakesh treaty. The paper will be helpful to the librarians to make sure that none of their users continue to suffer from those challenges in this era of the Marrakesh treaty. The methods suggested herein for reaping as much as possible from the Marrakesh treaty will be beneficial to information managers toward fashioning ways of ensuring that persons with visual impairments are able to access information freely and easily.

Based on a background study prepared by the Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam for the European Commission, DG XIII‐E/3, Luxemburg. The rapid growth of electronic document delivery services has created a number of complex copyright related problems. Are abstracts and bibliographical data protected? Are electronic storage, transmission and delivery‐on‐demand restricted acts? Do existing copyright limitations (library privileges, reprographic exemptions) apply in a digital environment? These and other copyright related issues are discussed from a primarily European perspective. In conclusion, some legislative and contractual solutions are discussed: European harmonization of copyright exemptions, statutory licensing, collective administration of rights, collective licensing, direct licensing.

High-speed internet and digital technology offer new ways of accessing and interpreting collection material in our cultural institutions. The ability of cultural institutions to unlock access to their collections online is constrained by copyright law. This paper examines the push in Australia for cultural institutions to “set collections free” online, and copyright law reform developments that hinder or facilitate making comprehensive online experiences of collections a reality.

It considers constraints in Australian copyright law following the adoption of increased IP enforcement and protection standards under the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement, in light of internationalisation of these standards through recent multi-lateral trade agreements. Finally, it considers copyright law reform options to better “unlock” or “set free” collections in cyberspace.

It recommends the inclusion of safeguards for copyright exceptions and limitations in trade agreements, and reaffirmation of user and public institution rights of access to information. It warns against the adoption of onerous anti-circumvention provisions. It also recommends various domestic law reform options to free up access to cultural collections.

Australia was one of the early adopters of the US-IP model that is fast becoming the international standard for enforcement and protection of IP rights. As such, looking at current Australian copyright law may help us better understand the effect IP-maximalist chapters being promoted in multilateral trade agreements may have on similar net-IP importing countries.

This article seeks to deal with the fundamental conceptual differences between consumer law and copyright law that render the application of consumer law to copyright‐law related conflicts difficult.

Following a normative approach to copyright and consumer law based on an analysis of the relevant literature and case law, the article examines in which situations consumers encounter obstacles when trying to rely on consumer law to invoke “privileges” granted to them under copyright law, such as the private copying exception.

Research shows that most difficulties lie in the fundamental conceptual differences between consumer law and copyright law regarding the objectives and beneficiaries of each regime, as well as diverging conceptions of “property”, “user rights” and “internal market”. Such discrepancies undeniably follow from the fact that each regime traditionally never had to deal with each other's concerns: consumers never played a role in copyright law, whereas copyright protected works were not seen as consumer goods.

By identifying the main conceptual differences between the two legal regimes, the article contributes in an inter‐disciplinary manner to the discussion on the place of the digital consumer under European law.

This paper aims to explore the copyright laws of Saudi Arabia, illustrating the provisions governing the law. It seeks to outline Saudi Arabia copyright law within the framework of the international copyright protection, which include the Berne Convention and the TRIPS agreement.

The paper is a thorough scrutinizing of the legal provisions of the Saudi Copyright Laws in regard to protected works, author's exclusive rights, lawful use of copyrighted works and the exceptions, mandatory licenses, duration of protection, provisions of infringements and penalties. The highlighted issue is concerning the exceptions in regard to public interest, particularly relating to education purposes.

The paper finds that the Saudi Arabia Copyright Laws have met the requirement of the international copyright laws. The conditions for mandatory license and the 12 exceptions which permit lawful usage of copyrighted work under the copyright law without seeking the permission of the author are also in line with the international copyright laws, as public interest is the paramount consideration in exercising these exceptions.

There is lack of study on copyright law in the Saudi Arabia per se. Therefore, this study on the Saudi Arabia copyright laws seeks to fill in this gap and to provoke further discussion on this issue. It should be useful to the academic community, particularly in the Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.