Transcript CI Presentation - A2Knetwork.org

La voix des Consommateurs
à travers le monde
The global voice
for consumers
La voz global para la defensa
de los consumidores
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.
WIPO’s 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:

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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



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5 countries have included the anticircumvention 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 nonprofit 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$2 a day;
signed all 3 treaties.

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Primary school textbooks replaced every year
Corruption in supply of school textbooks
10% VAT on textbooks except those in the local
language
10% VAT on all materials used in publishing
Library budgets grossly insufficient
University students unable to buy textbooks, resort to
photocopying
Lack of access to the internet – only 7% connectivity.
Case Studies – Indonesia & Thailand
Thailand - signed Berne Convention and
TRIPs.

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
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Prices of English language university
textbooks high
Libraries lack budget to stock English
language textbooks and journals
7% VAT imposed on all materials used for
publishing
20% tax on all imported CD ROMs
Book Prices Survey
Retail cost of Goodman & Gilman’s
The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics:
Indonesia - US$ 81.70
Thailand - US$ 65.23
US US$ 139.00
However, in terms of cost (% of GDP per capita)
and price in the US (GDP equivalent) and PPP:
Indonesia - 8.43% : US - US$
US$
Thailand - 2.83% : US - US$
US$
3,171 (GDP);
913 (PPP)
1,065 (GDP);
323 (PPP)
Book Prices Survey
Foreign Books in Malaysia cost more than in the US
and UK:
Retail
Actual
GDP
Price
in US/UK
Price in
M’sia
per capita
equivalent
£16.95
RM69.90
£51.27
Collins Web-Linked Dictionary on (RM61.87) (+12.98%)
David Jary & Julia Jary, Ed (2000)
Sociology
Glassgow: Harper Collins
Stephen Covey (2004)
The 8th Habit
New York: Free Press
Sidney Sheldon (2005)
The Other Side of Me
New York: Warner Vision
$15.00
(RM54.95)
$7.99
(RM29.16)
RM59.00
(+7.37%)
$59.25
RM35.90
(+23.11%)
$31.56
Book Prices Survey
Project on Access to Learning Materials in Southern Africa
SA
India
UK
US
$ 21.70
$ 6.50
$ 10.15
$ 10.15
SA
India
UK
US
$ 23.70
$ 13.50
$ 16.30
$ 11.60
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!
SA
India
UK
US
$ 44.61
$ 12.50
$ 24.00
$ 20.46
CI Project Website
All materials in the CI study available
on the project website:
www.ciroap.org/a2k