Libraries have a fundamental role to play in the development of democratic societies by enabling all members of the community to access global knowledge resources, ideas and opinions. Copyright law regulates the ownership, control and distribution of information and knowledge goods. Libraries enable people to find, access and use information and knowledge. Copyright is therefore a major concern to libraries because it governs the core business of libraries.

While libraries in developing and transitional countries are benefiting from access to new electronic resources licensed through the eIFL.net consortium, they are also affected by international policy making in copyright and trade agreements. Over recent years, observers have expressed concern that the digital copyright agenda is more focused on the needs of global industries such as those in the music, software and film sectors than that of the public interest and society at large. The result has been an international trend towards increased protection for rights owners at the expense of user, and harsher enforcement of copyright laws.

“One size fits all” global copyright regimes that do not take into account the local development priorities of a country are increasingly seen as unfair and inequitable. Unbalanced and disproportionate copyright laws further inhibit access to resources or impose unaffordable costs on already disadvantaged societies. This directly inhibits library services in providing access to learning resources, scientific and research information which is critical to the education and training needs of some of the poorest countries in the world.

eIFL.net librarians need to be in a position to advocate for fair access to knowledge, as well as balance, proportionality and developmental awareness in copyright laws. The goal of eIFL-IP is therefore to protect and promote the interests of libraries on copyright and intellectual property issues which affect the participating countries. The overall vision of eIFL-IP is that librarians will become activists for fair and balanced copyright laws as well as leaders in promoting access to knowledge in the digital age.

To this end, eIFL-IP:

• Has created a network of library copyright specialists;
• Builds capacity across the eIFL.net library community;
• Advocates for national and international copyright law reform.