The post-colonial copyright crisis of the mid-1960s is a particular phenomenon relating to the impact of the decolonisation process on former colonies (especially British colonies) in terms of literary publishing after the end of the Second World War. Previously education regimes in colonial countries had generally been under the control of the occupying power. The printing of educational texts took place in the occupying country, under copyright, most often to the specification of the relevant foreign ministry which would often produce texts with little in the way of knowledge that might lead to independent scientific or technological development. [1]
Domestic production of textbooks, especially those in indigenous languages, was severely restricted in several ways. The copyright regime, the capital costs and resources needed to set up and run a print mill and the lack of indigenous language material due to low literacy rates all contributed to an underdevelopment of the various post-colonial education systems once the decolonisation process was complete. UNESCO statistics show that in 1959, the Philippines and Burma each published 153 and 608 titles in their home languages respectively. A year later, statistics for India and Indonesia show 10,741 and 1,114 home language titles published respectively. [2]
Shortage of learning materials in accessible languages soon presented the newly independent post-colonial governments with a problem. Due to the price-fixing actions of publishing cartels in London and New York, prices for educational materials, which were still under copyright, were far beyond the reach of ordinary people, and governments were unable to subsidise the quantity of books needed to construct a viable statewide education system. Pirating the necessary texts (a radical option) was also difficult, given a lack of printing presses, paper mills, and raw paper stock. Importing these materials also turned out to be prohibitively expensive. [3]
A solution was sought by developing nations in the form of attempts to change the terms of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works of 1886, to which many now-independent nations had been signed up by their former colonial occupiers. Their continued membership of the convention was in itself a tricky international legal question due to their newly independent status - no independent government had ever signed the document.
The Stockholm Revision Conference [4] of 1967 provided developing countries with a chance to change the rules in favour of copyright-importing states. This group of 24 nations especially sought more flexible terms on copyright for materials destined for educational purposes. However, negotiations stalled as a result of pressure from British publishing interests, who did not want to give up any degree of control over lucrative international markets.
A Protocol Regarding Developing Countries was eventually agreed upon, but proved toothless, as it was non-binding. No developed, copyright exporting country signed or ratified it. Another opportunity arose four years later in 1971 at the Paris Revision Conference, [5] where there was more success. Rather than risk losing members to the convention, a binding appendix was agreed upon which set out exceptions for developing countries. However, the effects were not far-reached, and problems with access to materials remained as student numbers grew.
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives the creator of an original work, or another right holder, the exclusive and legally secured right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States.
Universal Copyright Convention (UCC) is an international instrument which was drawn up in 1952 under the auspices of UNESCO. The UCC was adopted in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1952, and enforced in 1955, is one of the two principal international conventions protecting copyright; the other is the Berne Convention.
The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty is an international treaty on copyright law adopted by the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1996. It provides additional protections for copyright to respond to advances in information technology since the formation of previous copyright treaties before it. As of August 2023, the treaty has 115 contracting parties. The WCT and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, are together termed WIPO "internet treaties".
Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence movements in the colonies and the collapse of global colonial empires. Other scholars extend the meaning to include economic, cultural and psychological aspects of the colonial experience.
The bibliographical definition of an edition is all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants.
The Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights is a document signed by the International PEN Club, and several non-governmental organizations in 1996 to support linguistic rights, especially those of endangered languages. The document was adopted at the conclusion of the World Conference on Linguistic Rights held 6–9 June 1996 in Barcelona, Spain. It was also presented to the UNESCO Director General in 1996 but the Declaration has not gained formal approval from UNESCO.
The Buenos Aires Convention is an international copyright treaty signed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 11 August 1910, providing mutual recognition of copyrights where the work carries a notice containing a statement of reservation of rights (Art. 3). This was commonly done with the phrase "All rights reserved" next to the copyright notice. This implementation varied as US law only required the author and year of publishing. Copyright protection under the convention is granted for the shorter of the terms of the protecting country and the source country of the work. The rather vague nature of the requirement for a statement of reservation led to the development of longer and more legalistic wordings, which have persisted despite the developments in international copyright law.
The Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations also known as the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations and the Rome Convention, secures protection in performances for performers, in phonograms for producers of phonograms and in broadcasts for broadcasting organizations.
The decolonisation of Africa was a series of political developments in Africa that spanned from the mid-1950s to 1975, during the Cold War. Colonial governments gave way to sovereign states in a process often marred by violence, political turmoil, widespread unrest, and organised revolts. Major events of decolonisation of Africa include the Mau Mau rebellion, the Algerian War, the Congo Crisis, the Angolan War of Independence, the Zanzibar Revolution, and the events leading to the Nigerian Civil War.[1][2][3][4][5]
Economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) are socio-economic human rights, such as the right to education, right to housing, right to an adequate standard of living, right to health, victims' rights and the right to science and culture. Economic, social and cultural rights are recognised and protected in international and regional human rights instruments. Member states have a legal obligation to respect, protect and fulfil economic, social and cultural rights and are expected to take "progressive action" towards their fulfilment.
The Copyright law of the Soviet Union went through several major revisions during its existence. The first Socialist copyright law was passed in 1925. Three years later, it was superseded by a second version that remained in force for more than three decades, until it was replaced in 1961.
Copyright in Russia developed originally along the same lines as in Western European countries. A first copyright statute dated back to 1828, and in 1857, a general copyright term of fifty years was instituted. The copyright law of 1911 was inspired by Western laws of the continental European tradition. One noteworthy exception in Russian copyright law was the "freedom of translation"—any work could be freely translated into another language.
The rule of the shorter term, also called the comparison of terms, is a provision in international copyright treaties. The provision allows that signatory countries can limit the duration of copyright they grant to foreign works under national treatment to no more than the copyright term granted in the country of origin of the work.
Since 2008 copyright in Afghanistan has been governed by the law on the support the right of authors, composers, artists and researchers.
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, was an international assembly held in 1886 in the Swiss city of Bern by ten European countries with the goal of agreeing on a set of legal principles for the protection of original work. They drafted and adopted a multi-party contract containing agreements for a uniform, border-crossing system that became known under the same name. Its rules have been updated many times since then. The treaty provides authors, musicians, poets, painters, and other creators with the means to control how their works are used, by whom, and on what terms. In some jurisdictions these type of rights are referred to as copyright; on the European continent they are generally referred to as author' rights or makerright.
Under the law of the United Kingdom, a copyright is an intangible property right subsisting in certain qualifying subject matter. Copyright law is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended from time to time. As a result of increasing legal integration and harmonisation throughout the European Union a complete picture of the law can only be acquired through recourse to EU jurisprudence, although this is likely to change by the expiration of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020, the UK has left the EU on 31 January 2020. On 12 September 2018, the European Parliament approved new copyright rules to help secure the rights of writers and musicians.
Right to quote or right of quotation or quotation right is one of the copyright exceptions provided by the Berne Convention, article 10: "It shall be permissible to make quotations ... provided that their making is compatible with fair practice, and their extent does not exceed that justified by the purpose". With different language, it was already present in the 1908 revision of the treaty.
The UNESCO Convention Against Discrimination in Education is a multilateral treaty which aims to combat discrimination in the field of education. It was adopted on 14 December 1960 in Paris and came into effect on 22 May 1962. The Convention ensures the free choice of religious education and private school, and the right to use or teach their own languages for national minority groups. The Convention prohibits any reservation. As of December 2022, 109 states were members of the Convention. It is the first international instrument which covers the right to education extensively and has a binding force in international law. It is recognized as a cornerstone of Education 2030 Agenda and represents a powerful tool to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG4).
The copyright law of South Africa governs copyright, the right to control the use and distribution of artistic and creative works, in the Republic of South Africa. It is embodied in the Copyright Act, 1978 and its various amendment acts, and administered by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission in the Department of Trade and Industry. As of March 2019 a major amendment to the law in the Copyright Amendment Bill has been approved by the South African Parliament and is awaiting signature by the President.
Copyright law of Indonesia is set out in the Copyright Act, namely, current, Act No. 28 of 2014. In law, the notion of copyright is "the exclusive rights for the creator or the recipient the right to publish or reproduce the creations or give permission for it by not reducing the restrictions according to the laws and regulations that apply".