International copyright reform in support of open legal information (working paper draft, Sep. 2016)
Abstract
This paper analyzes the status of legal information under international and national copyright laws. It argues that the current uncertainties with respect to the copyright status of primary legal materials (legislation, court decisions) and secondary legal materials such as parliamentary records and other official texts relevant to the interpretation of law, constitute a barrier to access and use. The time has come for reform of the international copyright system in WIPO. International law should recognize explicitly that primary and secondary legal materials are public domain and thus not subject to copyright or related rights. This will bring outdated copyright norms across the world up to date with current developments: the trend towards universal recognition of the right to access government information as part of human rights, the UN’s sustainable development goals with respect to access to law, and the rapid growth of open government policies worldwide, supported by the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
access to law, Copyright, Freedom of expression, frontpage, Fundamental rights, open government, right to know
Bibtex
Article{vanEechoud2016,
title = {International copyright reform in support of open legal information (working paper draft, Sep. 2016)},
author = {van Eechoud, M. and Guibault, L.},
url = {http://www.ivir.nl/publicaties/download/OpendataCopyrightReform_ODRSdraft-WP_sep16.pdf},
year = {0930},
date = {2016-09-30},
abstract = {This paper analyzes the status of legal information under international and national copyright laws. It argues that the current uncertainties with respect to the copyright status of primary legal materials (legislation, court decisions) and secondary legal materials such as parliamentary records and other official texts relevant to the interpretation of law, constitute a barrier to access and use. The time has come for reform of the international copyright system in WIPO. International law should recognize explicitly that primary and secondary legal materials are public domain and thus not subject to copyright or related rights. This will bring outdated copyright norms across the world up to date with current developments: the trend towards universal recognition of the right to access government information as part of human rights, the UN’s sustainable development goals with respect to access to law, and the rapid growth of open government policies worldwide, supported by the Open Government Partnership (OGP).},
keywords = {access to law, Copyright, Freedom of expression, frontpage, Fundamental rights, open government, right to know},
}