WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR/41) met from 28 June to 1 July in its first and only meeting in 2021. EIFL was represented by Teresa Hackett, EIFL Copyright and Libraries Programme Manager, Dick Kawooya, University of South Carolina, and EIFL Copyright Coordinator in Senegal, Awa Cissé, Universite Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Dakar.

Because of travel restrictions due to COVID-19, the meeting took place in hybrid mode, at the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) headquarters in Geneva, and online. Also, member states had agreed to a general discussion around next steps on the agenda items rather than engaging in actual negotiations or decision-making on the issues. 

In the main concrete outcome of the session, the Committee decided to hold an information session on the impact of the COVID pandemic on the cultural, creative and educational ecosystem during SCCR/42, which is due to take place in 2022.

At SCCR/41, EIFL called for action on two agenda items: fair access to broadcast content in the proposed treaty for the protection of broadcast organizations, and for work to begin on exceptions for preservation and other priority areas. EIFL also urged extreme caution on starting any work on the controversial issue of public lending right. 

Read Teresa Hackett’s blog about WIPO SCCR/41.