Government’s interventions (excerpts) on the libraries and archives and how to continue work on possible 11 topics (or only 2 or 3?) that should be prioritized
Here are the topics:
Preservation of library and archival materials
Reproduction and Distribution of Copies by Libraries and Archives
Legal deposit
Supply of works/Library lending
Right to Parallel Importation
Right to Cross-Border Uses
Orphaned works
Limitation on Liability for Libraries and Archives
Obligations Concerning Technological Protection Measures
Relationship with contracts
Right to Translate Works
>> URUGUAY: Thank you, be Chair. Chair, in the previous session of this committee, Uruguay together with Ecuador and Brazil submitted a proposal on limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives. Uruguay has followed this topic of exceptions as has said since 2008 where with Chile Nicaragua and Uruguay it submitted a document regarding the importance regarding limitations and exceptions and the SCCR.
In 2010 the Council of copyright of Uruguay together with IFLA the international federation of libraries and associations submitted their proposal in this regard in our country. At this meeting various experts and chiefs of offices of libraries and archives institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean participated. And it showed the importance for legislation in many countries have a clear status for limitations and exceptions for libraries in the various forms which are required for example regarding the ability to have access to a work for it’s content. If this is necessary for this library and this also applies to loans.
I think it was a very good meeting and it fine tuned the proposal by the federation of libraries and archives we believe this is a key topic for the agenda for our country, for all Developing Countries and it’s key for this issue to be dealt with, for it to continue to be on the agenda. And that together but not as a package but together with other issues such as visual impairment. And educational and research institutions should be considered together. And these are key issues on the agenda. And she’s should be dealt with — these should be dealt with the importance that they deserve. Thank you.
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>> ZAMBIA: Thank you, Chair. This delegation supports the statements by others who have spoken before me in support of libraries and archives. Libraries and archives are very important for Developing Countries as they provide students, researchers with educational materials and access to culture and knowledge. In order to meet the needs of users libraries and archives should have the exceptions to make reproductions in protectiontive works in printed and digital format they should be able to safeguard against damage and loss. Distinguished Delegates libraries and archives particularly in Developing Countries cannot meet all of the information needs for users we therefore feel that libraries should be able to share materials between libraries through what is known as interlibrary documents apply we believe this is important for all types of libraries in the world as it facilitates access to materials from others.
Mr. Chairman it’s important that libraries should be able to make use for content outside of the library and outside premises a treaty to provide exceptions for the rights of libraries and archives to benefit Member States from this exception. I thank you.
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>> KENYA: Thank you, Chair. Like other delegations who have expressed the need to provide for SPC for libraries and archives we wish to acknowledge that publishers and librarians need each other therefore librarians and archive ease-of-uses do their work in good faith and respect the rights holders this having been said my delegation in support of the African Group’s proposal wishes to submit it’s concern with the regards to the liabilities that have been in the past leveled against librarians and archivists who have been from time and time again accused of mist use of copyright work and have fallen prey of inad was sees that the current Copyright Law provides it needs to be clearly stated that the librarian or archivist is expected to provide access to information or knowledge. They are also under obligation to comply with IP statutes in making available information and material to their users the complexity of IP studies and the absence of ready legal advice to librarians and archivists while acting bonafide who as such may wrongly construe or interpret or apply copyright statute should not be personally held liable.
This not with standing this can only be attained if we provide in limitations and exceptions and insulation against such liabilities and this will provide librarians or archivist who inadvertently misinterpret or miseye ply the copyright status. Thank you.
>> CHAIR: Nigeria.
>> NIGERIA: Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Nigerian delegation and also on behalf of the African Group wants to stress like other speakers the importance of this issue. Personally as the daughter of a librarian, I can emphasize the importance of libraries, particularly with ensuring that the access needs the educational needs the research needs of the population are met in this regard parallel importation is of particular importance. Both in ensuring the vitality of libraries as cultural institutions but also to ensure that users not only in Developing Countries but in Developed Countries are able to access the rich trove of resources that are not often within national boundaries so I think it’s important that as this body begins to look at an international treaty on this issue that the question of what libraries do, how they are able to preserve to distribute works. And the necessary limitations that will facilitate parallel importation for libraries as well as library lending be of utmost priority. I think it is fair to say that the international copyright system and national copyright systems on the whole have only been successful because libraries have been in existence. I think that it is important to note that in the absence of parallel importation and limitations and exceptions on distribution right it would be virtually impossible for even the work we are doing in this body to go on. So without saying much at this point, again, just to stress the importance of this issue and to encourage that this body treat this with utmost seriously. Thank you.
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>> UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Like many delegations here the question of SPC for libraries and archives is very important to us and we have contributed a great deal of material and ideas to the working document like the Distinguished Delegate of South Africa we are concerned that just a series of general statements doesn’t advance the work of the committee. We all are committed to SPC properly and appropriately crafted for libraries and archives. So Mr. Chairman as we said in informals last night which think the work for libraries and archives will proceed if not today but in the future if this committee actually focuses on some of the topics in the list of 11 in the document the African Group has just said they see an emphasis on parallel importation we would have emphasis on other things as a place to begin the process but we really strongly urge the committee that general statements are not needed and we need to move on to a specific understanding of where in the document we should focus our attention because we have to focus our attention now to make progress. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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>> TUNISIA: Thank you, Chair my delegation on behalf of the African Group wish to express real issue on the issue — real interest with the issue with reference to cross-border issues. We think it is important to stress — to address the issue of how to obtain excess materials from libraries and archives in other countries in response to requests from users. We believe that international treaties on copyright do not address this issue and this poses a real challenge to access to information especially in the current Digital Age where information has no defined borders. So my delegation and on behalf of the African Group suggests that this committee should seek to provide for cross-border information transfer which is recognized by intergovernmental communities. And thank you, Mr. Chair.>> ECUADOR: Thank you, Mr. Chair. This delegation also would like to support the idea put forward by the Distinguished Delegate from the United States that we should sort of start focusing the issues of the libraries that we’re going to address. Having in consideration that we will have to address them all. But it would be a good idea if we start I don’t want to say clusters but we need to have some order so we focus on what we want to resolve. That’s what I think.
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>> EGYPT: Thank you, Chair. We would like to address of course this issue of the proposal represented yesterday. One important aspect of this proposal was the issue regarding the attractive withdrawn and accessible works. In this regard we think this is very important topic to be discussed especially given the encasing — the increasing number of work circulated under this particular classification. And we would like to support the ongoing discussions as part of the Exceptions and Limitations for libraries and archives for this issue we also need to address the for the works as part of the issues before committee, in this regard we note the libraries and archives to make available materials that are historical scientific and cultural in nature and making them accessible to their patrons. Essentially these institutions face the challenge of where the authors cannot be found where the authors have withdrawn the works and where the work is no longer commercially available therefore we view these works that are originally in libraries and archives are in different languages across the world we know the effective functioning of these institutions would allow us to address this issue and include some specific Exceptions and Limitations regarding it and we will be willing to listen to any comments to present any clarifications in this regard. Thank you.>> NIGERIA: Thank you on support of the African Group with regard to the issues of contracts on this item my delegation supports the efforts by the committee in providing limitations and exceptions for archives in line with this we strongly support the limitations and exceptions on licensing regimes or agreement by libraries and archives. Limitations and exceptions provided by the copyright national laws supersede contracts and licensing terms that seek to limit copyrighted works. This is because to do otherwise would permit rights holders to defeat or limit certain limitations and exceptions that are already provided in the Berne Convention. Thank you.
>> SENEGAL: Thank you, Chairman, I do thank you for giving me the floor at this stage. My delegation would like to begin by expressing support for the proposal that’s been put forward by the African Group. That is to say the proposal referring to the need to establish limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives. We support that proposal. We believe that this is a matter of paramount importance for the African region. Given the importance of libraries and archives for education and research in our region. And also given their particular sporns when it comes to access to knowledge.
My delegation believes that the existence of TPMs is indeed very important in order to ensure appropriate protection for copyright but we also believe we need to clarify the fact that such measures could constitute limitations on the ability of libraries to enjoy access to knowledge. we therefore believe we need to focus further on this issue. Thank you.
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>> UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Thank you, Mr. Chair. A number of the Distinguished Delegates who have spoken have identified individual areas that seem important to them. The Distinguished Delegate of Nigeria first mentioned importation. Then the Distinguished Delegate of Egypt raised a different topic, which was orphaned works. And then the Distinguished Delegate of Nigeria came to a different topic which was licensing then the Distinguished Delegate of Senegal raised the question of TPMs. And again the United States would like to recommend to the committee that we’ll only really be able to move this forward in the future if we focus on two or three topics that we can all agree are the topics that really should warrant our first efforts. And since everyone is making suggestions or making implicit suggestions along those lines for the United States limitations of liability for librarians, which was mentioned by the Distinguished Delegate of Kenya, is a priority for us and an emphasis for us as is preservation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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>> EGYPT: Thank you we wanted to thank the delegation of the United States for engaging this discussion. We just wanted to get clarity that this proposal to have focus on two or three topics so what will be the situation regarding the other topics? Because we understand that in this committee we have identified the 11 clusters or topics for further discussion, this committee and later on. So I would just request for further clarity about the exact perspective towards the other topics beyond the two or three identified as proposed by the U.S. delegation.
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ARGENTINA: Thank you, Chair. We’re going to make a general intervention regarding the process we’re doing today. And we would like to talk about some of our particular points of interest in this discussion.
I would like to reiterate that we are also interested in preservation. We are also interested in the responsibility of libraries and archives. Interlibrary loans and technological protection measures without prejudice to establishment. Which in fact all of the other previous delegations have dealt with — interventions have dealt with. Thank you.
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>> SOUTH AFRICA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman I think you said what we were going to say our understanding is we have 11 topics and what is logical is to go by sequence starting with preservation I believe there will be comments if there are no comments then we move on to the second topic so I just wanted to suggest we start with the first topic on preservation. Thank you.
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>> UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Thank you Mr. Chair we believe the Distinguished Delegate of South Africa was addressing what we should do in today’s session, which is completely fine with us. We were only making an informal suggestion regarding future work and I think that’s clear to everyone. And we would still recommend that to the Chair. Of course picking two or three topics by consensus is not to the detriment of the other topics being eventually addressed. We would just recommend to everyone that the only reason we have been able to make substantial progress like we have on print disabilities is a very focused and narrow topic where we can really put our attention and that’s the only reason that the United States is recommending that we take among the 11 some place to start. And were the committee wanting to do that in future work as the Distinguished Delegate of South Africa recommended, you just start with the list, that would be fine. But then we would recommend we really have a focused effort on that first topic. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
>> CHAIR: Thank you. Do I see any other requests for the floor
There’s a proposal from South Africa as I understand it that we start looking at the document from of course the first topic, which is preservation, in this committee session. I just want to hear your views on that proposal. Egypt.
>> EGYPT: Thank you, my delegation can support this proposal because we think it’s a logical way to proceed with the work and we note it’s coming from the Chair that we would like to have some sort of a structured discussion around the issues. So we can support this path.