Attempts on freedom of expression in South Africa
On 29 October 2017 a new book appeared on the shelves of bookstores in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Renegotiating the NAFTA agreement
In July of this year, the Trump Administration unveiled its goals in renegotiating the NAFTA agreement. In a detailed document, the USA government presented its objectives and the representatives of Canada, Mexico and USA started working on redefining their economic relationship. One of the most important elements of these negotiations, for publishers, will be the treatment of intellectual property.
Accessibility in practice
Since 27 June 2013, the date of its adoption, 33 countries have signed on to the Marrakesh Treaty. One year after the Treaty was adopted, a private/public partnership led by WIPO and including the IPA was launched to work towards increasing the number of books in accessible formats worldwide. The Accessible Book Consortium (ABC) works on capacity building projects and provides a secure platform for the exchange of files but there is always a need for work to be done at the national level.
Educational publishing and the development agenda
The IPA has always stressed the need for capacity building of the publishing and creative infrastructure in developing nations, and Africa is a continent where many countries are crying out for this kind of intervention. In the developed world, trade publishing (books that one buys in bookshops) is often predominant, but in the developing world it is educational publishing that usually takes the lead. And this is as it should be, with education of a country’s population being the surest first step in the evolution of a modern, self-sufficient society.
Summary of the WIPO SCCR 35
The November meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) was as intense as always. But the week-long meeting (3-7 November) carried extra significance for the IPA because of the large delegation we had organized to be here in Geneva.