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Consumers International Study on Copyright and Access to Knowledge Rajeswari Kanniah Head Consumers International Kuala Lumpur

Copyright – A Limited Monopoly Copyright is a monopoly given to the owner over certain works (books, paintings, movies, songs, photographs, computer software, etc.) The monopoly is limited by law in 4 ways: 1. Type of works 2. Bundle of rights granted 3. Duration of protection 4. Limitations and exceptions These are referred to as the flexibilities permitted by copyright law

Flexibilities in Copyright Law The more the monopoly is restricted by these flexibilities the greater will be the public access to copyrighted material However the number of flexibilities that a country can provide depends on the accession status of the country – i.e. the exact treaties to which it is a signatory

International Copyright Treaties National copyright laws are framed according to the international treaties the country has signed: Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 1886 Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) 1994 WIPO Copyright Treaty 1996

Accession to Copyright Treaties Not all countries have signed all three treaties. There are four possible combinations. 1. Berne Convention only 2. TRIPS only (in effect Berne and TRIPS) 3. Berne and WCT 4. Berne, TRIPS and WCT

CI Study Sample A total of 11 countries representing each of the four possible combinations of accession Countries studied: Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Thailand

The Findings All the 11 developing countries have not taken advantage of all the flexibilities available. They provide copyright owners far more rights than they need to. WIPOs draft copyright laws do not provide for all the flexibilities, and introduce new rights not mentioned in the international treaties.

The Findings Of the 11 developing countries: 10 countries have extended the duration of copyright protection for some or all works beyond minimum duration required by their treaty obligations. 0 explicitly permit parallel import. 8 countries have not made declaration under the Berne Appendix to take advantage of compulsory licensing for translation, reproduction and publication of copyrighted works.

The Findings 5 countries have included the anti- circumvention provision even though they are not parties to the WIPO Copyright Treaty. Only 3 countries allow use of the whole of a work for teaching purposes 9 countries limit the types and forms of utilisation for teaching to only reproduction of materials 9 countries have not included distance education in the teaching exception

The Findings 5 countries restrict number of copies that can be made for illustrations for teaching 6 countries impose conditions allowing only published works to be quoted and restrict quotations to only a short part or extracts. 10 countries have not excluded political speeches and speeches delivered in legal proceedings from copyright protection

The Findings 0 have included exceptions to allow the use of copyrighted works in broadcasts for educational purposes 6 countries have not provided for minor reservations that allow use of copyrighted works for e.g in schools for educational purposes

The Findings Public Lending: the transfer of the possession of the original or a copy of a work or a phonogram for a limited period of time for non- profit making purposes, by an institution, the services of which are available to the public, such as a library or archive Included as an economic right of the copyright owner in the WIPO Draft Law on Copyright and Related Rights, Version 1 and Version 2. None of the international treaties list this as an economic right - WIPO has created a new right!

The Findings Of the 11 developing countries: The following 4 countries have included public lending as an economic right in almost identical language as that found in the WIPO draft laws: Bhutan, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Kazakhstan Implication: Libraries will need the permission of the copyright owner to lend out the original or a copy of an audiovisual work, a work embodied in a phonogram, a computer program, a database, or a musical work in the form of a notation.

Implications of the Findings Hard won concessions at the international level are not being translated into public benefit at the national level Possible reasons: Countries negotiating membership to WTO being coerced to adopt higher IP protection than required by their accession status e.g. Cambodia. Bilateral and Free Trade Agreements impose higher levels of IP protection. Advice given by WIPO and foreign experts -WIPO draft laws take a maximalist approach and are adopted by developing countries. Civil society in these countries not sufficiently organised or informed of the issues.

Case Studies – Indonesia & Thailand Copyright does play a role in determining access to knowledge. Monopoly created results in: High price of imported books Licences for translation difficult and expensive to obtain Flexibilities not used e.g. compulsory licensing and parallel import

Case Studies – Indonesia & Thailand Indonesia – 52% live on less than US$2 a day; signed all 3 treaties. Primary school textbooks replaced every year Corruption in supply of school textbooks 10% VAT on textbooks except those in the local language 10% VAT on all materials used in publishing Library budgets grossly insufficient University students unable to buy textbooks, resort to photocopying Lack of access to the internet – only 7% connectivity.

Case Studies – Indonesia & Thailand Thailand - signed Berne Convention and TRIPs. Prices of English language university textbooks high Libraries lack budget to stock English language textbooks and journals 7% VAT imposed on all materials used for publishing 20% tax on all imported CD ROMs

Book Prices Survey Retail cost of Goodman & Gilmans The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics: Indonesia - US$ Thailand - US$ US - US$ However, in terms of cost (% of GDP per capita) and price in the US (GDP equivalent) and PPP: Indonesia % : US - US$ 3,171 (GDP); US$ 913 (PPP) Thailand % : US - US$ 1,065 (GDP); US$ 323 (PPP)

Book Prices Survey Foreign Books in Malaysia cost more than in the US and UK: Retail Actual GDP Price Price in per capita in US/UK Msia equivalent David Jary & Julia Jary, Ed (2000) £16.95 RM69.90 £51.27 Collins Web-Linked Dictionary on (RM61.87) (+12.98%) Sociology Glassgow: Harper Collins Stephen Covey (2004) $15.00 RM59.00 $59.25 The 8 th Habit (RM54.95) (+7.37%) New York: Free Press Sidney Sheldon (2005) $7.99 RM35.90 $31.56 The Other Side of Me (RM29.16) (+23.11%) New York: Warner Vision

Book Prices Survey Project on Access to Learning Materials in Southern Africa SA $ India $ 6.50 UK $ US $ SA $ India $ UK $ US $ SA $ India $ UK $ US $ What does Long Walk to Freedom really cost? As a percentage of GDP/ Capita in USA – 0.2% As a percentage of GDP/ Capita in SA – 6.5% Imagine paying $ 365 for this book in the USA!

CI Project Website All materials in the CI study available on the project website: