[A2k] WIPO CDIP/5 Statement from eIFL

[Teresa Hackett (eIFL)]

STATEMENT FROM

ELECTRONIC INFORMATION FOR LIBRARIES (eIFL.net)
AND
LIBRARY COPYRIGHT ALLIANCE (LCA)

WIPO COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPMENT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
FIFTH SESSION, GENEVA, 26-30 APRIL 2010

Thank you, Mr Chairman. I would like to congratulate you on your
election as chair of this Committee. I represent Electronic Information
for Libraries, an international NGO that works with libraries in
developing and transition countries. This statement is supported by the
Library Copyright Alliance. Our interest is with copyright and related
rights.

I would like to thank the Secretariat for all the documents prepared for
this meeting, including the Director General=92s report. I would like to
comment on a project discussed in agenda item 6, the Director General=92s
report and Agenda item 8. The project is Intellectual Property and the
Public Domain (Recommendations 16 and 20).

This project will focus, as a first step, on analysing the implications
of a rich andaccessible public domain, and will explore the various
tools available for identifying and accessing subject matter that has
fallen into the public domain.

I would like to highlight an issue that has a major impact on access to
material in the public domain - the role of technological protection
measures (TPMs). TPMs are problematic because they are allowed to
restrict access to the public domain.

There are two major concerns. The first is that TPMs do not know - and
by their nature cannot know - when the term of copyright protection
expires. This means that the content remains inaccessible, even when it
has fallen into the public domain.

The second concern is obsolence. TPMs, like many technologies, quickly
become out-of-date unless they are actively maintained by the producer.
It is said that the average life span of a TPM is three to five years.
Commercial mergers and acquisitions mean that the original keyholder
might not be found, so that it might not be possible to transfer digital
material onto new platforms or operating systems. As a result, it is
conceivable that a great number of digital works with TPMs will be
inaccessible in the future.


Libraries understand the problem. This is because the world=92s libraries,
mandated to preserve our cultural heritage, need to be able to transfer
protected digital works to other formats for preservation purposes, so
that the content is fully accessible when the rights have expired. Major
libraries, such as the British Library, have expressed their grave
concern about the impact of TPMs on the preservation of our cultural and
scientific heritage, and have called on policy makers to find a solution.

In conclusion, we believe that the role of TPMs is such a critical
issue, and central to the existence of a rich and accessible public
domain, that it should examined as part of the project work programme.
The library community is ready to offer advice or assistance in this regard=
.

Thank you, Mr Chairman.

Contacts:

Teresa Hackett
eIFL.net
E-mail: teresa.hackett [at] eifl.net

Janice T. Pilch
Library Copyright Alliance
E-mail: pilch [at] illinois.edu