'Copyright and Course Packs: A Collision of Competing Values?'

Location: MTC Lecture Theatre, Somerville College, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HD

Can university departments authorise the creation of course packs consisting of photocopied excerpts from copyright-protected works? This question was recently considered by the Delhi High Court in The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford and Ors v Rameshwari Photocopy Services and Anr (16 Sep 2016). The court held that the creation of such course packs falls within the ambit of a limitation on copyright. This permits the reproduction of protected works in the context of educational use (specifically, ‘by a teacher or pupil in the course of instruction’).

The judgment, which has been appealed, has far-reaching implications for educational institutions, the viability of the publishing industry and access to knowledge. The Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre (OIPRC) and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD) would like to invite you to a panel discussion where representatives of the publishers involved discuss its implications with leading copyright law scholars. The panel consists of:

• Professor Lionel Bently, Herchel Smith Professor of Intellectual Property, University of Cambridge
• William Bowes, Chair of the International Board of the Publishers’ Association
• Dr Emily Hudson, Senior Lecturer, Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London
• Professor Uma Suthersanen, Chair in International Intellectual Property Law, Queen Mary, University of London

NB:
1. A useful two-page summary of the issues and select legal provisions is available.
2. We expect the event to be well-attended so please arrive in good time to ensure a place.