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Tuesday 5 January 2010

Jeremy

Copyright reform in Brazil: challenges of the digital age

In "Copyright Law Reform in Brazil: Anteprojeto or Anti-project?" (Intellectual Property Watch, 23 December 2009), media sociologist Ralf Volker Grassmuck writes in some detail about proposals to reform Brazil's copyright law. According to the abstract,

"A balancing of the rights of authors and consumers, the re-introduction of a private copying exception, a remixing permission and a new regulatory agency for copyright issues are among the core points the Brazilian Ministry of Culture has planned for the new copyright law. But at the Third Conference on Copyright and the Public Interest in São Paulo a month ago, the Ministry emphasised that the bits and pieces shown to the audience were not from an actual law draft (”anteprojeto”) but only a preliminary proposal for formulating such a draft. The bill still has not been published to date. The delay in releasing the bill for public consultation now threatens the work of more than two years on the reform".
He concludes:
"Many ... demands for adequate responses to urgent challenges of the digital age seem to be echoed in the Ministry of Culture’s plans. How exactly nobody knows, until the Ministry finally publishes its draft law and the final round of debate on a balanced copyright for the 21st century can begin. The clock is ticking on the possible success of the reform. Much is at stake - for the future of Brazilian culture, for other countries in Latin America who look to Brazil as a role model and for the world".

Jeremy

Jeremy