Do Copyright and Human Rights go together?
Copyright protection is not per se a human right, but it is a tool which protects the human rights of authors and publishers. Copyright impacts on freedom of expression, both of the author and of members of the public who wish to distribute the author’s works as part of their own freedom of expression. This does not just mean the freedom to express a certain opinion, but also to chose the appropriate medium to do so, or even to remain silent.
Alaa Al Aswany: “In the absence of copyright protection, people will simply stop writing.”
A new IPA report on copyright and human rights exposes how the poor state of creative industries and of freedom of expression in developing countries is directly linked to the absence of copyright.
Alaa Al Aswany: copyright and human rights go together
Alaa Al Aswany is the Arab world’s bestselling novelist. We spoke to him about the precarious situation for writers in countries, like Egypt, without proper copyright protection.
Fighting online IP crime
Online piracy is a massive challenge for all economies which depend on their creative industries, hurting publishers’ and authors’ income, employees’ jobs and governments’ tax revenues.
New IPA report on electronic legal deposit
Legal deposit schemes, which require publishers to submit copies of books and journals to a national library, is considered a vital part in preserving a country’s cultural heritage.
Standing up for copyright: creative sector calls for balanced approach to rights and exceptions
The IPA, along with other creative sector organisations (IFRRO, FEP, Motion Picture Association, European Writers Council, International Federation of Journalists & more) have written to European Commission President José Barroso, highlighting the dangers of a proposed WIPO treaty on copyright exceptions for libraries and archives.
In Germany and the US, file hosting services succesfully pursued for copyright infringement
Publishers and collecting societies are successfully sueing online file-hosting services where copyrighted materials are illegally downloaded.
“Books are key!” Authors, publishers and booksellers launch a joint manifesto for the European elections
The European Writers’ Council, the Federation of European Publishers and the European Booksellers Federation today launched a joint manifesto for the 2014 European Parliament elections.
EU copyright reform: publishers, it’s time to give your views!
The European Commission is planning to modernize the EU copyright framework “to remove current obstacles, promote rapid digital developments and make copyright fit for the digital age”.
In order to decide how to proceed, they have launched a public consultation, open until 5 March 2014.
Copyright exceptions for libraries & archives: IPA’s recommendations to WIPO
As WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights met in Geneva to discuss exceptions for libraries and archives, the International Publishers Association’s Secretary General, Jens Bammel, cautioned against changing the system.