EIFL has compiled a booklet of statements made by librarians and archivists representing thousands of institutions at sessions of WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR).

Titled ‘The internet is global - but copyright exceptions stop at the border. Why we need an international treaty for cross-border access to knowledge’, the booklet includes statements by library and archive organizations made at WIPO SCCR sessions in April 2014, June 2014 and May 2016. WIPO is the main body that sets international copyright law.

The 15 statements present extensive evidence from around the world of information denied when copyright exceptions stop at the border, or when licensing fails. They were made in support of an international treaty at WIPO to solve real practical problems that libraries and archives face in providing information services to people across borders.

The booklet is a valuable resource for policy-makers and government officials concerned with copyright, as well as librarians and archivists involved in copyright advocacy.

The statements are from the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), EIFL, the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA), the German Library Association (DBV), the International Council on Archives (ICA), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the Karisma Foundation, LIBER (Association of European Research Libraries), the Scottish Council on Archives (SCA), and the Society of American Archivists (SAA).

Thanks to everyone for their work!

Read the booklet of statements here.

Read about EIFL’s work advocating for an international library treaty.