Library Copyright Alliance Supports South Africa Copyright Amendment Bill in Comments to US Trade Representative

Following a hearing on the eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) responded to a request for post-hearing comments by the Office of the US Trade Representative. The hearing and comments will inform the US trade representative’s review of the eligibility of countries to benefit from AGOA, which provides duty-free treatments to goods of designated sub-Saharan African countries. A key factor in assessing eligibility is the extent to which the country is providing adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

In the comments, LCA supported aspects of South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB) and the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill (PPAB), and refuted points made by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) about the inadequacy of the bills. A central theme of the LCA comments is that many of the policy choices made in the CAB and the PPAB are consistent with US law, such as fair use. LCA also points out that provisions that would preserve the right of researchers to make their research available to the public do not undermine academic freedom, as IIPA asserts. And, LCA holds that the right to make accessible-format copies should apply broadly, and not just to authorized entities.

The bills significantly increase the overall level of copyright protection, and their enactment does not provide a plausible basis for South Africa to lose its eligibility for trade preferences due to not providing adequate and effective protection for intellectual property.

 

About the Library Copyright Alliance

The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) addresses copyright issues that affect libraries and their users to foster global access to and fair use of information for creativity, research, and education. LCA consists of two major library associations—the American Library Association and the Association of Research Libraries. These two associations collectively represent over 300,000 information professionals and thousands of libraries of all kinds throughout the United States and Canada.