Officials from national copyright offices and diplomatic missions will meet in Geneva on 7-11 April for the 46th meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). IFLA will be attending, calling for the Committee to realise its potential to contribute to greater legal certainty for libraries and possibilities to fulfil their missions. 

IFLA has engaged for around two decades now in the work of the Committee, which proved its potential as a driver of positive change with the agreement of the Treaty of Marrakesh in 2013.

Copyright matters. Preservation, access, lending, and support for education and research can all be made easier – or more difficult – by the shape of the copyright laws in place. Libraries in many countries are active in calling for change.

Yet copyright is also often seen as a complex issue, and there can be strong and often loud lobbying in favour of tougher protections. In the face of this, WIPO has a potentially major role in underlining to governments that it is not only legally acceptable, but also desirable to ensure that libraries have the space to fulfil their missions.

The IFLA delegation, led by Sara Benson, our Head of Delegation, will be making the case in Geneva. Specific items on the agenda include ongoing discussions over a potential Broadcasting Treaty, limitations and exceptions to copyright for libraries, archives and museums, copyright in the digital age, and public lending right.

Thanks to the support of the Programme on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, we are glad also to count Rodney Malesi (Kenya) and Anthony Kakooza (Uganda) in our delegation.