While IPA President Michiel Kolman, Vice-President-elect Bodour Al Qasimi and Secretary General José Borghino led the IPA delegation that attended WIPO’s SCCR in Geneva, President-elect Hugo Setzer and Chair of the IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee, Kristenn Einarsson, attended the Guadalajara Book Fair.
IPA brought a 10-strong delegation to WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) in November but other WIPO committees are working too.
Sharjah International Book Fair featured keynotes from IPA President, Michiel Kolman, and President-elect, Hugo Setzer, alongside panels on freedom to publish and educational publishing. Setzer’s message was that local, regional and international cooperation are essential to the future of our industry.
South Africa has been attracting a lot of international attention for its copyright reform bill with IPA and other international organisations expressing concern.
The first day of the SCCR37 closed with ‘informal’ discussions about the Broadcasting Treaty amid much interest about whether the Argentine and American proposals would lead to a breakthrough or the continuation of the current deadlock.
From 21-24 August I had the chance to attend the Beijing International Book Fair on behalf of IPA.