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USA

5 May 2007

Doug Rogers*

VIEWS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD

The Copy/South Dossier contains a very interesting collection of views from different parts of the world that is very valuable for people in developed and developing countries to understand and try to change. It is also very interesting to point out the traditions of cultural creation and copying in different cultures. Since, as the Introduction points out, the Copy/South Dossier does not present a single point of view, it might be helpful if the contributors had their names attached to the parts they worked on, so readers who wanted to follow up could directly contact the contributors to those sections.

For instance, p. 137 agrees that the creation of fair dealing (or fair use) laws in every country in the world is certainly a demand worth supporting, but I think the article then underestimates how flexible the U.S. fair use statute can be. I believe, and have drafted an article that argues, the U.S. fair use statute should allow the translation in the United States of complete English works into the native languages of citizens of developing countries that could then be provided to developing countries without charge by non-profit corporations for educational purposes. I would like to communicate directly with the individual(s) who contributed to this part of the dossier, not to try to change their minds, but to exchange views. While those more interested in other approaches to increasing access to knowledge in developing and least developed countries could take other approaches, I and perhaps others could address the possibilities for expanding the concept of fair use as an effective legal principle (although perhaps not the most important one) to increase access to knowledge.

Referring at least in part to the U.S. Constitution, p. 82 of the Copy/South Dossier says it is assumed that people can and will only come up with new inventions if there is a sufficiently large financial reward acting as an incentive for doing so. I dont think that is the assumption in U.S. copyright law. It is recognized that some people will create literary works and inventions without a financial incentive, but the question is how can a system be structured to maximize the creation of literary works and inventions through the incentives provided by copyright and patent protection? While I think that the increased protection provided by copyright and patent laws over the last 30 years has swung the balance too far (a) in favor of the rights of creators and those who buy the rights from the creators and (b) against the rights of users and potential users, I also think that to disregard the role that incentives can play in the creation of new works, or to attack the motives of those favoring stronger IP protection, would hurt the credibility of the overall argument against imposing the same IP laws on developing and least developed countries that the developed countries have.

The overall message of the Copy/South Dossier is a very important message: that for the developed countries to impose their intellectual property laws on developing and least developed countries creates terrible hardships on the citizens of the developing and least developed countries. The issue is what approaches are most likely to improve the situation. Hopefully more people who understand the harm caused by the current system will pursue trying to correct the situation in the varied legal ways different people and organizations may choose, until the most effective ways are identified and until there is a bridge over the digital divide.

Thanks.

*Columbus, Ohio