[Ecommerce] ICTSD event: Limitations, Exceptions and Public Interest Considerations for Developing Countries in the Digital Environment

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

ICTSD requested me to post the invitation to an even on Friday,
September 23, 2005 at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).


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The International Copyright System: Limitations, Exceptions and Public
Interest Considerations for Developing Countries in the Digital Environment

Roundtable
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Room C.2
Friday 23 September, 9h00 =96 11h30

Dear Sir or Madam

I am pleased to invite you to an informal roundtable on =93The Internationa=
l
Copyright System: Limitations, Exceptions and Public Interest Consideration=
s
for Developing Countries in the Digital Environment=94 on Friday 23 Septemb=
er
from 9h00 =96 11h30 at the World Meteorological Organization in room C.2,
which will be signposted and is located in the basement meeting areas.

Access to basic educational material has far-reaching implications for the
education policy aspects of sustainable development. Achieving universal
primary education may help improve livelihoods, and contribute to the
eradication of poverty and hunger as part of ongoing work towards the
Millennium Development goals.

With the creation of an unprecedented extensive layer of substantive
international law to protect creative expression, access to copyrighted
knowledge and educational material has become an issue of primary concern
particularly in developing countries. This becomes particularly relevant in
countries where the income of individuals, and consequently their purchasin=
g
power, is much lower than in developed countries.

Discussions on this question tend to focus on the diverse interests of
rights owners and users, and on how these interests may be reconciled so
that creativity is protected and access to knowledge, in particular for
domestic non-commercial use, is facilitated at affordable prices. However,
it must not be overlooked that access is also a significant part of the
copyright balance in industrialised countries. Many industrialised
countries, such as the USA, Germany, and Scandinavian countries, have
well-established institutions (such as libraries, educational institutions,
etc) that provide avenues of access (other than purchasing the product) for
users and consumers. Their copyright exemptions are usually based on
long-standing case law, explicit statutory provisions, and other
flexibilities provided, inter alia, under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Relate=
d
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and relevant Worl=
d
Intellectual Property Organization's conventions.

In most developing countries, however, many of these flexibilities are
either unavailable (due to, for example, newly negotiated free trade
agreements) or not fully exploited. This roundtable aims to discuss some of
the existing limitations and exceptions available in international copyrigh=
t
law which pertain to sustainable development outcomes. It will also analyse
how we can expand the public welfare component of international copyright
regulations to find a balance between the mandatory standards of protection
and the scope of discretion reserved to states to establish limitations and
exceptions specifically directed at domestic concerns. In this context, the
roundtable will also seek to expand knowledge on recent proposals made in
the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights on exceptions
and limitations. The roundtable will benefit from the presentation of a
research paper =93The International Copyright System: Limitations, Exceptio=
ns
and Public Interest Considerations for Developing Countries in the Digital
Environment=94 by Ruth Okediji, William L. Prosser Professor of Law at the
University of Minnesota Law School to initiate the discussion.

The roundtable will be informal and off the record. Participants are invite=
d
in their own capacity. We consider your expertise and active participation
in the roundtable as essential for ensuring its quality and success. Please
contact Daniel Robinson to confirm your participation (Daniel Robinson,
ICTSD, Tel + 41 22 917 8374, Fax: + 41 22 917 80 93, E-mail:
drobinson@ictsd.ch). For further information about ICTSD and the joint
ICTSD-UNCTAD project on IPRs, please consult our web site at www.ictsd.org
or www.unctad.org/tot-ip. We look forward to receiving your confirmation an=
d
are confident that you will find this roundtable a challenging and most
beneficial event.

Thank you for your kind consideration.

Faithfully,

Ricardo Mel=E9ndez-Ortiz
Executive Director - ICTSD

Preliminary Agenda

9h00 - 9h15 =09Welcoming Remarks

Roundtable:

9h15 =96 9h45=09Presentation by:

Ruth OKEDIJI, William L. Prosser Professor of Law at the University of
Minnesota

9h45 =96 10h00=09Comments by:

Maximiliano SANTA CRUZ, Permanent Mission of Chile to the WTO

Jens BAMMEL International Publishers Association (IPA), Secretary General

Thiru BALASUBRAMANIAM, Consumer Project on Technology

10h00 =96 11h15=09Open Discussion

11h15 =96 11h30=09Wrap up session