In her latest book, ‘Conceptualizing Copyright
Exceptions in China and South Africa’,
Jia Wang
provides a detailed comparative study of copyright exceptions in the context of
research and education specifically. The book starts with a discussion of the
international framework for copyright exceptions, and then compares it with the
laws of national countries, especially China and South Africa, to assess the
extent to which, in today’s digital age, national copyright laws uphold their
international agreements in this area. For its treatment of the relevant law of
China and South Africa alone, the book is a welcome contribution to the field
of comparative copyright law, as accessible in-depth material on developing
countries tends to be sparse.
As noted, Wang’s analysis considers the
practical and legal impact of digital technologies and the internet on research
and education on developing countries (Chapter 4). The discussion on this issue
notably looks at the legality of ‘shrink-wrap’ and ‘click-wrap’ contracts (pp
100-108). From the copyright exception perspective, how much legal room does a contract
enjoy to override permitted acts, fair use or fair dealing? The answer is far
from clear according to Wang, and it is certainly not harmonized across
countries, despite the fact that international agreements purport to provide a
common minimum standard of copyright exceptions. Wang argues that for copyright
practice, greater clarity on this point is still needed – at both the national
and international levels. Against that backdrop, she urges policy-makers to
provide that contracts that have the effect of narrowing the scope of copyright
exceptions should be set aside (p 107-108).
 |
cat-wrap |
Some of the other practical
difficulties covered by the book concern the status and liability of public
libraries, copyright assignment in academic publishing and the deceptively
simple concept of ‘the right of communication to the public’ in the context of institutions
such as universities or libraries. Should it make a difference in the
implementation of copyright exceptions that these institutions are in principle
not profit-driven but knowledge-driven?
Chapters 5 to 7 explore these
issues in light of Chinese and South African copyright laws. One of the main
take-away points for both countries relate to anti-circumvention rules, which
Wang identifies as the least coherent and consistent area of copyright and
which is most detrimental for research and education institutions in both
countries (pp 185-186, 222-226, 249-250), as they protect DRMS, which will
often block permitted uses of protected content.
 |
The cat who infringes DRMs to give
back to the public domain. Outlaw? |
Wang, like many other
commentators, advocates stepping away from a one-size-fits-all approach to
copyright exceptions, stressing that the legal traditions and cultures of China
and South Africa are too diverse to be brought under the same rigid regulatory
framework (pp. 247-249). The emergence of new commercial models that seek to
generate profits not from users’ subscriptions but through advertising is also
framed by Wang as an opportunity to implement the very aim of copyright
exceptions: enabling the widest possible access to works to the largest number
of individuals.
This book will be useful to any
copyright lawyer or academic interested in the comparative study of copyright
exceptions and how they apply to the public sectors of education and research.
Book reviewed: Jia Wang, Conceptualizing
Copyright Exceptions in China and South Africa (2018) Springer. 257 p. ISBN
978-3-319-71831-6. Printed book: Hardcover 139,99 € | £123.00 | $159.00
[1]149,79 € (D) | 153,99 € (A) | CHF 154,00 ; eBook: 118,99 € | £98.00 |
$119.00 [2]118,99 € (D) | 118,99 € (A) | CHF 123,00 Available from your library
or springer.com/shop ; MyCopy [3] Printed eBook € | $ 24.99 springer.com/mycopy.
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