This commentary has been drafted by the Secretariat of Unesco and the International Bureau of WIPO.

In International Copyright Law and Access to Education in Developing Countries: Exploring Multilateral Legal and Quasi-Legal Solutions, Susan Isiko Štrba demonstrates the challenge of access to printed copyrighted educational and research materials in developing countries and proposes institutional and normative solutions at national and international levels.

In this book, leading scholars analyze the important role played by copyright exceptions in economic and cultural productivity.

. . . this book provides an interesting insight into many aspects of copyright law. It is a useful resource not only for those whose core practice is copyright but also those involved in industries reliant on copyright. New Zealand Law Journal Copyright law is undergoing rapid transformations to cope with the new international digital environment. This valuable research Handbook provides a thorough and contemporary tableau of current thinking in copyright law. It traces the changes undergone and the challenges faced by copyright, as well as its roots and its diversity, combining to present a colourful picture of a dynamic research area. The editor brings together an elite group of international copyright scholars who offer incisive and original analysis of a wide range of issues and aspects of copyright law, and in some cases a multiplicity of perspectives on a single topic. Rigorous and often thought-provoking in nature, this research Handbook clearly maps the current landscape, and will also undoubtedly stimulate further research in the field. Analysing the cutting edge of current copyright research, Copyright Law will be of great interest to researchers, students, practitioners and policymakers.

International Patent-Legislation and Developing Countries

This book critically evaluates the current copyright law system in a digital environment from a comparative perspective. Since many developing countries modelled their copyright laws on more advanced jurisdictions, they have not benefitted from such a law as much as intended due to their inherently embedded social economic conditions. Moreover, the copyright law system has been under constant challenges from rapidly developing digital technology and the Internet. All in all, there is a pressing need for developing countries to reevaluate their copyright law in light of their national needs, the developmental stage of their economy, their culture and tradition, and their legal system. The book poses the question of whether copyright law should be reformed to fulfill its fundamental purpose of serving education and research that are in the public interest in the digital era? It examines whether the legal frameworks adequately address developing countries’ educational and research requirements in view of the opportunities and restrictions posed by electronic communication media. Further, it provides a comprehensive study that addresses the various critical issues relevant to the reform of the copyright law system and offers recommendations for developing countries to revamp their copyright law system to better serve their education and research sector.

Arguing that the translation of scientific and technical learning materials, and the publication of these translations in a timely and affordable manner, is crucially important in promoting access to scientific and technical knowledge in the developing world, this book examines the relationship between copyright law, translation and access to knowledge. Taking Sri Lanka as a case study in comparison with India and Bangladesh, it identifies factors that have contributed to the unfavourable relationship between copyright law and the timely and affordable translation of scientific and technical learning materials, such as colonisation, international copyright law, the trade interests of the developing economies and a lack of expertise and general lack of awareness surrounding copyright law in the developing world. Highlighting the need to reform international copyright law to promote the needs and interests of developing countries such as Sri Lanka, the book points to a possible way forward for developing countries to achieve this and to address the problem of striking a proper and delicate balance in their copyright laws between the protection of translation rights and the ability of people to access translations of copyright protected scientific and technical learning materials.