IFRRO reception and side event on seamless access to copyright works in education at WIPO’s 24th meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related rights (SCCR)

The 24th WIPO SCCR focused on exceptions and limitations for education, libraries and persons with print disabilities. IFRRO made a general statement as well as specific ones on education and access to copyright works by the print disabled.

             Photo by Veraliah Bueno

Regardless of legislative measures, agreements with rightholders and their representatives, supported by collective rights administration, such as by RROs, offers the most adequate user access to intellectual property in changing environments.

This was also what was demonstrated at the side event organised by IFRRO during the SCCR on 19 July on seamless access to copyright works in education. Direct licensing combined with collective rights management by RROs offers the safest, simplest, fastest, most innovative, most convenient and most cost efficient way to seamless access to high quality teaching material from multiple rightholders. It works in developed as well as developing countries. What’s more, flourishing local cultural industries and a healthy educational system with broad access to local resources contributes significantly to the nation’s economy and employment. Collective administration of rights through RROs is about making copyright work.

Main presenters at the IFRRO side event were Jim Alexander of CopyrightAgency (Australia) and Tracey Armstrong of CCC (U.S.A.) on RRO activities and IPA’s Secretary General Jens Bammel on publisher business models for education. IAF’s Maureen Duffy provided an author’s perspective, whereas the IFRRO President Magdalena Vinent and the IFRRO CEO Olav Stokkmo introduced and summarised the key features.

All presentations are available here:

•   IFRRO and RROs
Magdalena Vinent, Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos (CEDRO), Spain; President of IFRRO

•    Educational Publishing
Jens Bammel, International Publishers Association (IPA)

•    Access for Education
Jim Alexander, Copyright Agency Limited (CAL), Australia

•    Collective Licensing; Enabling Seamless Access to Knowledge
Tracey Armstrong, Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), United States

•    Position of authors and the challenges they are facing
Maureen Duffy, International Authors Forum (IAF)

•    Seamless access to copyright works in education; and
ARROW - stakeholder developed tool for the search for rights information
Olav Stokkmo, Chief Executive IFRRO
 
In addition to the side event, IFRRO also hosted, together with IAF (International Authors Forum) and IPA (International Publishers Association), a reception on the SCCR’s opening day 16 July. The award winning UK author Tony Bradman (http://www.tonybradman.com/) addressed the WIPO Member States’ delegations and other delegates at the event.