For most of its existence, international copyright policy at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has focused on the creation and harmonization of exclusive rights. This state of play was only disrupted in 2004, when Chile first proposed to WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) that it explore the issue of limitations…

Readers in Europe and around the world may have heard some refreshingly contented murmurings recently about a new—and, “miraculously, an eminently sensible”—copyright policy report coming out of Canada. The report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science & Technology, released earlier this month, was the culmination of a statutorily mandated parliamentary review of Canada’s Copyright…

EU copyright reform is upon is. Once again, the Member States will need to develop their own implementations of a new piece of European copyright law. This time, the task is far from easy. Due to political turbulence in the legislative process, the resulting text of the Directive is extremely complex. Because of this, there…

It is difficult to find an article on any topic in the field of intellectual property (IP) that does not call for reform. Many legislative efforts are afoot in the EU to “update” IP norms, including a proposed Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market. The same is happening elsewhere but most of those…

As the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice and ongoing discussions in the EU legislature illustrate, the economic rights granted to right holders under EU copyright law – the rights of reproduction, communication to the public and distribution – have become increasingly unpredictable. While the right of reproduction already covers almost every direct or…

Here at the Kluwer Copyright Blog we are thrilled to have had the opportunity to ask Felix Reda MEP a few questions on the controversial Proposal for a Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive). But first, some background. The original proposal was submitted in November 2016 by the Commission. The ordinary…

On 19 March 2018, the Department of Communications and the Arts released its Copyright Modernisation Consultation Paper (Consultation Paper) addressing key proposals for the reform (or rather “modernisation”) of Australia’s copyright laws and regulations. The Consultation Paper is the latest in a series of publications addressing copyright law reform in Australia, some of which were…

During the last decade, Australia has seen a number of copyright reviews that have recommended various copyright reforms, some more extensive than others. To mention some of the most important: in 2014, the Australia Law Reform Commission recommended the adoption of fair use into Australian copyright law. In 2016, the Productivity Commission’s Report on Intellectual…

The Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) has just published a position paper on the proposed reform of copyright exceptions and limitations in the European Digital Single Market (DSM). The European Commission’s planned copyright reform proposes to adapt EU law to the challenges emerging in the Digital Single Market (DSM). This CEIPI Opinion does…

Article 13 of the Proposed Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSMD) and the accompanying Recital 38 are amongst the most controversial parts of the European Commission’s copyright reform package. Several Member States (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany) have submitted questions seeking clarification on aspects that are…