Permanent Mission of India Geneva

Statement by India on Exceptions and Limitations for Libraries and Archives at the 31st session of the Standing Committee Copyright and Related Rights at WIPO on 10 December 2015, delivered by Dr.V.C.Vivekanandan,Ministry of Human Resource and Development IP Chair Professor

Respected Chair

Under your able and skillful guidance the SCCR 31 is progressing at a faster pace than the previous meetings. The progress achieved in the deliberations on the Broadcasting Treaty needs to be matched with that of the deliberations of the Limitations and Exceptions to Libraries, Archives & Museums/ Educational Institutions and persons with other disabilities.

Libraries are the spaces for future knowledge generations and has served as a social leveler for the poor and underprivileged. Knowledge generation and its dissemination today have strong commercial undercurrents than previous centuries. The Physical Library is now expanded as virtual libraries to be accessed in IT gadgets and smartphones. This transformation of the physical access to that of the virtual access is also transforming the way libraries are conceived and used. Nevertheless this transformation still has at its core the issue of  'access' to billions of underprivileged sections in the developing and least developed spaces.

India is accelerating its development with focus on education, skills and R&D. So is the case with many other countries that are transforming their human resources for a life with dignity and progress. In such context the exceptions and limitations to Libraries need to be prioritized and matched with the fast paced digital information wave. This requires an International framework in a constructive way to consolidate and expand the purpose and scope of Libraries.

Archives and Museums similarly are the bedrock of cultural, anthropological and social identities of societies. A country with a vibrant archival and museum structures shapes the identity of the members of that space and thereby gives a feeling of solidarity and unity. The limitations and exceptions framework is a legal and moral obligation of human kind and again requires an International framework for its effective progress.

Similarly, Education Institutions need an effective Exceptions and Limitations regime under an international framework, as the digital world often is a borderless phenomenon. The exceptions and limitations for persons with other disabilities are looking forward with the successful conclusion of the Marrakesh Treaty - a repeat cooperation from the developed world. India has given a 11 point text in collaboration with the African group, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile in the past meetings.

Mr. Chair,

Art 7 of TRIPS states that "the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations."

In that spirit it is essential for an appropriate international framework to cast the limitations and exceptions in a non-ambiguous manner for progress of the human resources across the world.

Thank You Mr. Chair