Intellectual Property and Cultural Heritage
at the crossroads of law, technology and
business: a view from WIPO
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND
CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
Madrid, October 29, 2009
Richard Owens, Director
Copyright E-Commerce, Technology and Management
Division, WIPO
Introducing WIPO
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UN Specialized Agency
184 Member States, 66 IGOs/250 NGOs Observers
Mandate: Effective, balanced protection of IPRs for a
global Information Society
Main activities: Norm-setting (treaties and ‘soft law’);
technical assistance to developing countries; IP
registration services (industrial property);
Goals: Continued improvement of IPR system to
promote creativity and innovation in the Internet Age;
reducing the Digital Divide
Administers more than 25 treaties, including WIPO
Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances &
Phonograms Treaty (“Internet Treaties”, 1996)
Copyright and Cultural
Heritage Institutions
(CHIs)
Shared objective of facilitating availability and
dissemination of culture for society as a whole
Culture includes both copyright-protected works
and public domain material
In the digital environment, the traditional role of
CHIs is facing constant changes, challenges and
opportunities
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Copyright and CHIs:
a double role
A- Users and licensees of IP
B- Creators, owners and managers of IP
I- home.pacbell.net/hgladney/TDOflow2.jpg
CHIs as Users of IP
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Which rights apply (display, public
communication, reproduction, ‘making
available’, others)?
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Limitations and exceptions to rights (e.g.
preservation, education, access to content
by visually-impaired persons)
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Online access to CH, rights clearances and
third-party interests (role of collecting
societies, traditional knowledge issues)
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Role of internet intermediaries, eg search
engines
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Issues related to documentation, orphan
works, the public domain
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CHIs as Rightholders
- Emerging business models for CHIs
- The commercial value of CH
- Online access to museum and archive
collections, new licensing and technological
tools
- CH as a driver in online education
- Preservation of web-based materials
Cultural Heritage on
the Agenda of WIPO
A- Implementation of WCT and WPPT (WIPO “Internet Treaties”,
1996)
B- Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR)
(e.g. Limitations & Exceptions, Visually Impaired Persons,
Audiovisual Performances)
C- Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and
Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC)
D- Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP),
WIPO Development Agenda (e.g. Public Domain, Access to
Knowledge (“A2K”))
E- Awareness raising activities (e.g. CHIs, Building Respect for
IP)
Implementing the WIPO
Development Agenda
http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_3/cdip_3_4.pdf
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Scoping study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public
Domain (2009-10);
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Second Survey of National Legislation on Voluntary
Registration and Deposit Systems for Copyright and Related
Rights (2010-11);
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Survey of Private Copyright Documentation Systems and
Practices (2010-11);
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Global Meeting on Emerging Licensing Issues in the Copyright
Area (4th quarter 2010);
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Project on Public Policies to Promote Access to Information and
Creative Content (2010-11)
WIPO Guide on Managing
Intellectual Property for Museums
- First Part: relevant IP issues (e.g. scholarly content, inhouse developed technology, branding strategy), best
practices in managing IP;
- Second Part: review of existing business models;
- Available in English, Spanish and French; downloadable
for free, http://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/museums_ip
http://www.wipo.int/copyright
richard.owens@wipo.int
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