This book critically evaluates the current copyright law system in a digital environment from a comparative perspective. Since many developing countries modelled their copyright laws on more advanced jurisdictions, they have not benefitted from such a law as much as intended due to their inherently embedded social economic conditions. Moreover, the copyright law system has been under constant challenges from rapidly developing digital technology and the Internet. All in all, there is a pressing need for developing countries to reevaluate their copyright law in light of their national needs, the developmental stage of their economy, their culture and tradition, and their legal system. The book poses the question of whether copyright law should be reformed to fulfill its fundamental purpose of serving education and research that are in the public interest in the digital era? It examines whether the legal frameworks adequately address developing countries’ educational and research requirements in view of the opportunities and restrictions posed by electronic communication media. Further, it provides a comprehensive study that addresses the various critical issues relevant to the reform of the copyright law system and offers recommendations for developing countries to revamp their copyright law system to better serve their education and research sector.

Protection for intellectual property has never been absolute; it has always been limited in the public interest. The benefits of intellectual property protection are meant to flow to everyone, not just a limited population of creators and the corporations that represent them. Given this social-utility function, intellectual property regimes must address issues of access, inclusion, and empowerment for marginalized and excluded groups. This handbook defines an approach to considering social justice in intellectual property law and regulation. Top scholars in the field offer surveys of social justice implementation in patents, copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, rights of publicity, and other major IP areas. Chapters define Intellectual Property Social Justice theory and include recommendations for reforming aspects of IP law and administration to further social justice by providing better access, more inclusion, and greater empowerment to marginalized groups.

This book constitutes the joint refereed proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Next Generation Wired/Wireless Advanced Networks and Systems, NEW2AN 2018, the 11th Conference on Internet of Things and Smart Spaces, ruSMART 2018. The 64 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 186 submissions. The papers of NEW2AN focus on advanced wireless networking and applications; lower-layer communication enablers; novel and innovative approaches to performance and efficiency analysis of ad-hoc and machine-type systems; employed game-theoretical formulations, Markov chain models, and advanced queuing theory; grapheme and other emerging material, photonics and optics; generation and processing of signals; and business aspects. The ruSMART papers deal with fully-customized applications and services.

'This brilliant amalgam of law, history, social analysis and some Confucian philosophy argues for a distinctive Chinese approach to copyright and the public interest, aligning not only the Western commitment to individual creativity but also supporting public access to and use of works without the consent of the copyright holder. The argument involves fascinating analysis, not only of evolving Chinese attitudes to education, libraries, archives and censorship, but also of the profound significance of the Internet in China today.' Hector MacQueen, University of Edinburgh, UK 'Guan Hong Tang's book offers a fresh, insightful and scholarly treatment of the relationship between the law of copyright and the public interest in China. Copyright legislation in China is a novelty, dating from 1990, and Dr Tang provides a vivid overview of the historical and cultural tensions between traditional Chinese Confucianism and the very concept of copyright, tensions which more recent legislation and case law seek to address.' Gillian Davies, Hogarth Chambers, UK Guan Hong Tang expertly highlights how the multidimensional concept of public interest has influenced the development and limitations of Chinese copyright. Since 1990 China has awarded copyright individual rights but also provides for public, non-criminal enforcement. The author reveals that pressures of development, globalisation and participation in a world economy have hastened the loss of public interest from copyright. However, for a socialist country, placing the common ahead of the individual interest, the public interest also constitutes a phenomenological tool with which to limit copyright. The author also discusses how the rise of the Internet, which has had a major social and economic impact on China, raises problems for Chinese copyright law. Comparing Chinese copyright law with the USA and the UK, topical issues are presented in this unique book including those arising within education, library and archives sectors. This insightful book will strongly appeal to students and researchers in IP law, comparative law, Chinese studies, international commerce and information science. It will also prove invaluable for lawyers and consultants with expertise in IP and China.

Fair use and fair dealing are the most used exceptions to copyright. They are common denominators in national copyright legislations. Whereas they developed from the common law fair use doctrine, both exceptions have different implications in modern times. While the fair use variant is seen as open-ended and more flexible, the fair dealing variant is regarded as close-ended and inflexible. The fair dealing variant is adopted in Nigeria and South Africa. Both countries are reviewing their respective copyright Acts and copyright exceptions and limitations, including fair dealing provisions, are among the subjects of such review. One key challenge for law makers in both countries, is how best to frame the exceptions and limitation, especially the fair dealing provisions in order to achieve an equitable balance between the interest of copyright owners and the need to promote creativity. In modern times, the fair use variant is widely regarded as more effective in striking the required balance between the interest of copyright owners and the public interest. Thus, while reflecting on the fair dealing provisions in the extant copyright Acts in Nigeria and South Africa, this paper reviewed the proposed amendments to determine whether they are adequate to ensure such balance. To this end, the paper compares the proposed amendments with the fair use and fair dealing provisions in other common law jurisdictions.

This Article suggests a pat h to develop a principled conceptualization for copyright of limitations and exceptions at the international level. The paper argues that, normatively, copyright has always sought to reflect a balance between protection and access. It demonstrates that this balance was present to the minds of the negotiators of the 1886 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and may have been somewhat overlooked in revisions of the Convention. It was ultimately replaced by a three-step test designed to restrict the ability of individual legislators to create limitations and exceptions. The article also considers the conflicts between copyright and rights such as the right to privacy, human rights principles of free expression and cultural diversity, the right to information, the right to education, and the nascent right to development, all of which imply striking a balance in intellectual property protection. The article begins with a historical look at the public interest foundations of the Berne Convention and its revisions until 1971. The article then proceeds to a conceptualization of limitations and exceptions in order to show the policy linkages of each type of exception and proposes a set of principles for limitations and exceptions. The article also examines the meaning and impact of the three-step test because it would be pointless, not theoretically, but from a policy perspective, to ignore the application of the test in suggesting international principles for limitations and exceptions.

"With China's entry into the WTO, copyright has become a hot issue. This is an essential reference for those engaged in legal work in China, giving an historical overview of the concept of intellectual property, the development of legal protections, criminal liabilities, and prospects for the future."