Safeguarding a fair copyright balance - contemporary challenges in a changing world : lessons to be learnt from a developing country perspective

Abstract

This thesis looks at how to achieve a fair copyright balance from the perspective of developing countries. The thesis examines the international legal framework which developing countries such as South Africa have to respect. It analyses the flexibilities in this framework and, in particular, copyright exceptions and limitations. These flexibilities are important because they allow domestic lawmakers to develop countryspecific domestic copyright legislation. The thesis then goes on to discuss why getting the right balance between protecting copyright and giving adequate access to knowledge material is of particular concern for developing countries. As part of this discussion, the thesis looks at the impact of digital technologies on copyright law in general and for the copyright balance in particular.