WIPO Diary SCCR39 (day 3) – From books to broadcasting

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Today’s discussions saw the focus shift from Exceptions and Limitations to the Broadcasting Treaty (and sadly not about all of the value generated by the copyright in an original work that migrates from being a book to a film, for example). The Exceptions and Limitations discussions are not over, by any stretch of the imagination, and they continue to rumble behind closed doors.

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WIPO Diary SCCR39 (day 2): Glocalising Digital Education

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The first day closed with Dr Kenneth Crews waiting to be grilled by delegates and observers. He was given the opportunity this morning, but the highlights today were the side events and the ripples from some late-night messages to delegates.

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WIPO Diary SCCR 39 (Day 1): Early Birds and Worms

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While the publishing industry was gathered in Frankfurt last week for the most important international book fair in the world, the action was already starting at WIPO in Geneva with an International Conference on Exceptions and Limitations on Friday and Saturday 18-19 October.

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IPA Regional Seminar, Amman (day 2): More united than divided

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The second and final day of the IPA Regional Seminar in the Middle East was opened by Sharjah publisher Bodour Al Qasimi (Kalimat Group), who is (among other things) also the IPA Vice-President.

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IPA Regional Seminar, Amman (day 1): Digital disruption to humanitarian action

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When the IPA regional seminar in Amman, Jordan, got underway this morning there was a crackle of promise in the air. This was more than a conference opening – it was like the inauguration of a new bridge spanning the space between the IPA’s global membership and the Arab World.

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Notes from the road: to the Andes and back

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Between end of July and early September I had the chance of participating in several important events throughout Latin America. A region full of contrasts, where a wealthy, vigorous parts of society still coexists with undeserving levels of poverty. An assignment still to solve. Every country with a different, rich culture and traditions and enchanting people.

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In Praise of Iran’s Independent Literary Awards

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Every year I read dozens of manuscripts submitted to our publishing house. Unfortunately not all of them are as enjoyable or educating as I expect and only a handful end up published. Beside these books, that I don’t have any control in choosing, I have another ‘to read list’ that I cherry pick from prize shortlists, reviews in magazines and newspapers, friends’ and colleagues’ recommendations, or just authors I love!

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Notes from the road: from Nairobi to Seoul, via Berlin

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What do Kenya, Germany and Korea have in common? There are all members of IPA, and during June I had the unique opportunity to make a two-week trip to all three of them.

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Pride in Diversity: Stonewall at 50

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Diversity and Inclusion comes in many different shapes and colors and this month, Pride month in many countries, the focus will be on LGBTI+, or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex, where the plus denotes all other groups in an overall inclusive approach to sexual orientation and gender identity.

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Inclusion & Diversity: An interview with Stephen Lotinga, CEO, Publishers Association (UK)

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Arguably a forerunner in making progress on the topic of inclusion and diversity, the UK Publishers Association began their journey with a landmark report on the diversity of the UK publishing industry in 2017. They have just released their findings from a follow up report, and I caught up with their CEO Stephen Lotinga during the London Book Fair to find out more.

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EU copyright modernised: Was it easy?

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558 days after it was proposed by the European Commission on 15 September 2016, the Members of the European Parliament adopted on Tuesday 26 March, the compromise text on copyright in the digital single market (the market we all share as Europeans thanks to freedom of circulation of goods, services and persons). And then, 20 days later, that text was passed by the Council and became EU law with a two-year deadline for EU Member States to incorporate it into their national legislations.

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WIPO Diary (SCCR 38) Day 5: The Final Hurrah

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Friday at SCCR 38 was for “other matters” – copyright in the digital environment, resale right and theatre directors. 

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WIPO Diary (SCCR 38) Day 4: Typologies galore

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Following Wednesday’s jam-packed day of presentations and side-events, you could feel a drop in energy in the chamber today as a number of reports were presented.

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WIPO Diary (SCCR 38) Day 3 – Exceptions, exceptions, exceptions (and limitations)

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Wednesday morning, before the start of the WIPO plenary session, IPA had two important meetings. Firstly, we were invited to take part in a regular briefing that the US delegation offers particular stakeholders at every SCCR. Secondly, IPA then met with the Asia-Pacific Group which includes Members States from a huge swathe of territory from the Middle East to islands in the Pacific. In a friendly meeting, we asked if there were reviews of copyright on the horizon among their members. We discussed the upcoming WIPO regional conferences (the first of which, will be at the end of April, in Singapore) as well as various other events and projects within their borders. These types of meetings are very important to ascertain current positions and plumb possible future shifts.

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WIPO Diary (SCCR38) Day 2: An informal day in the chamber but buzzing around it

The second day of the 38th session of the WIPO SCCR, began with the regular meeting the IPA organizes on Tuesday morning for the representatives of the Creative Sector Organisations Group that we coordinate. On the 13th floor of the WIPO building with sweeping views up Lake Geneva towards Lausanne, we convened a meeting that included representatives of the music, film and collective management sectors as well as publishing. The purpose of the meeting is to brief those who had missed the first day’s action and to plan what we will do for the rest of the week.

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WIPO Diary (SCCR 38) Day 1: Copyright and Sport

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Yesterday was the first day of the 38th session of the WIPO SCCR. If you need to re-familiarise yourself with what has happened previously and some of the WIPO lingo here are links to previous diaries, our jargon buster and the official SCCR page.

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SCCR 38 - looking ahead

Today, we begin the week-long, 38thsession of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). For those of you new to these conferences, we direct you to our summary of where we ended up last time (in November 2018).  

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A Diversity and Inclusion Envoy for IPA

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When IPA President Hugo Setzer asked me to become the IPA’s Presidential Envoy for Diversity & Inclusion in the Publishing Industry I immediately accepted. It is a topic close to my heart and important for our industry – an importance which will only increase over time.

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Copyright

© IPA

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The Endangered Joy of Reading in Iran

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Iran celebrated its national book week from 15 to 22 November this year with the slogan ‘The Great Joy of Reading’. The book week is the second major book related event in Iran after Tehran international book fair that is held in May every year. There were many activities and programs planned for this week across the country, either state driven or run by the private sector, to promote the culture of reading. 

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WIPO Diary (SCCR 37) Day 5: The End of the Affair

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IPA’s President-elect, Hugo Setzer, virtually opened the last day of SCCR 37 in a video prepared by the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC). Hugo spoke eloquently (in Spanish, with English subtitles) about accessibility issues as they affect his native Mexico as well as the global context.

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