[A2k] EDRI's Statement at WIPO SCCR on agenda item on limitations and exceptions

[Ville Oksanen]

Thank you Mr. Chairman,

European Digital Rights, EDRI, represents 28 privacy and civil rights
organisations from 17 different countries in Europe. As this is the
first time EDRI takes the floor, we=92d like to congratulate you and your
vice chairs on your election.

Not surprisingly, we are strongly in favour of starting the work that
would hopefully lead to new international instrument on limitations and
exceptions of copyright.  EDRI therefore warmly supports the proposal
presented by honourable delegate of Chile.

However,  EDRI firmly believes that any new instrument should have also
a strong focus =96 for example as a part of best practices - on the rights
of totally ordinary citizens  --- in addition to the professional or
institutional users that traditionally occupy the center stage during
these discussions of limitations and exceptions.

One of the key reason for this is that value of all kinds of consumer
goods is based nowadays increasingly on the software and content and not
so much on hardware. As a concequence copyright has to learn to live
with consumer protection regulation. From our perspective, it would make
most sense to address this challenge inside the copyright system at the
international level.  In practice this means that the proposed research
should also seek to answer questions like  =93is it ok to hack your iPhone
even if that requires making a derivate copy of the software =94 and =93is
it legal to create tools that help consumer to transfer maps from his
old navigator to a new one even if the license agreements forbid it=94.
As far as we know, answers to this kind of questions are not yet firmly
established at any jurisdictions and therefore task at hand would be
forward-looking global harmonization..

Finally, EDRI would like to see very much such limitations and
exceptions those aim is to protect free speech =96 for example parody and
satire, quotations for criticism, usage of works in news  - included
extensively to the process. Copyright has a dark history for being a
tool for censorship and oppression of controversial opinions =96 hopefully
the possible new instrument could be a tool for redeeming this black past.