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User Rights Symposium 2025: Principles for Progress in Digital Copyright

We appear to be on the cusp of a new wave of international digital copyright reform. The World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) has been focusing on two long-standing agenda items: the Treaty for the Protection of Broadcast Organizations (since 1998) and Limitations and Exceptions for libraries, archives, museums, education, research, and persons with disabilities (since 2004, SCCR/12/3). A proposed third-standing agenda item on copyright in the digital environment seeks to address contemporary challenges, including artist remuneration in streaming and the implications of artificial intelligence. See generally PIJIP, . With two recent treaties concluded by other WIPO Committees last year -- the Design Law Treaty and the , the work of the SCCR, including the , has moved to the center stage.

Geneva, Switzerland
June 16-18, 2025
Application:

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property invites you to participate in this year’s annual meeting and Symposium of the Global Expert Network on Copyright User Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. The goal of this year’s symposium is to share research and deliberate over principles that guide protection of the public interest in the digital copyright issues WIPO is considering. We seek presentations of research and views on the following:

  • What principles and objectives should be promoted in an instrument on limitation sand exceptions for education and research in the digital environment. See
  • Analysis of the history and latest proposals of the Broadcasting Treaty, including principles and amendments to promote the public interest.
  • Analysis of options to promote the public interests in copyright in the digital environment, including to protect the moral and material rights of creators such as to fair remuneration, secondary publication rights, and rights reversion. See

This year’s symposium will be hosted by PIJIP’s Geneva Center on Knowledge Governance and the South Centre, with collaborating partners IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions), the Knowledge Rights 21 Project, COMMUNIA Association for the Public Domain.

Apply to join this year’s Symposium at

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