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1. This memorandum seeks your approval for a staff member of the Copyright Law Division to participate in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Special Committee of Technical and Legal Experts in the occasion where that Committee will discuss a Recommendation on the Protection and Promotion of Museums and Collections. Such discussion will take place in UNESCO’s headquarter in Paris, on May 27 and 28, 2015.
2. The issue of copyright and museum has been constantly addressed by the Copyright Law Division in the past few years. The updated guide “Managing Intellectual Property for Museums” prepared by the consultant Ms. Rina Elster Pantalony was recently published and it will be available soon the “Study on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Museums”, prepared by the consultants Mr. Jean-François Canat and Ms. Lucie Guibault. Furthermore, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) became an observer to the Standing Committee of Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) in 2014 and has been actively engaged in discussions about limitations and exceptions with the view that museums should benefit from limitations and exceptions to copyright.
3. UNESCO has led an initiative on how to protect museums’ material interest over their collections, mainly through an international instrument. The present debate at UNESCO of an international instrument to protect museums’ collections and archives may have implications on the copyright legal framework, reason why WIPO’s presence at the meeting should be considered. Furthermore, WIPO engage with the specialized experts at the meeting and point out the recent efforts to clarify the relationship between museums and copyright over works in their collections.
4. It is proposed that Mr. Rafael Ferraz Vazquez, ICS, Copyright Law Division, attends the meeting. A costing is attached.
5. For your approval, please. |