Ei-iE

The 46th session of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) concluded with limited progress on the critical agenda of exceptions and limitations for education and research.

WIPO, a specialised agency of the United Nations, is responsible for the protection of intellectual property worldwide through cooperation among member states and the administration of international treaties. Education International (EI) continues its long-standing advocacy for an international legal instrument that would guarantee educators and researchers the right to fairly access and use copyrighted materials in their work, an essential condition for the right to education and academic freedom.

Despite the tireless efforts of this year’s Chair from Costa Rica to build consensus at the SCCR, deep divisions between member states blocked agreement on substantive next steps. Even though all member states agreed already in 2023 on a work programme proposed by the African Group’s to achieve the 2012 WIPO mandate: to work towards an appropriate international legal instrument on limitations and exceptions for education, research, libraries, archives and museums.

While many industrialised countries remain adamant in their reluctance to work towards a binding treaty, there appeared to be a growing willingness to, at least, begin discussions on objectives, principles, and other non-binding options as a starting point. However, despite this limited progress, neither developing nor industrialised countries could reach a consensus on how to move forward. As a result, meaningful advancement was stalled, with no agreement on even the most basic steps forward.

“Copyright laws must serve the public good, not corporate interests,” said Mugwena Maluleke, President of Education International. “We need legal frameworks that recognise education as a human right and enable teachers and students to access, share, and build knowledge without fear or barriers. Governments must act now to align copyright with the realities of 21st-century learning.”

Fair use is a teaching right

Throughout the week, EI and the Access to Knowledge (A2K) Coalition reminded governments that the time for procedural discussions has passed. What is now needed is progress, not process. Governments must move beyond restating positions and begin concrete drafting work that reflects the 2012 mandate and the implementation plan already adopted at SCCR 43.

As part of the EI delegation, Miriam Socolovsky from CONADU, Argentina, also addressed the Committee, warning that copyright restrictions are directly contributing to teacher precarity and undermining the right to education:

“Today we face a shortage of 44 million teachers—a crisis that is far more than just a number and is rooted in the conditions under which we work,” said Socolovsky. “The lack of mandatory limitations and exceptions to copyright is part of the problem. It creates legal and financial barriers in preparing the educational materials we need to teach diverse groups of students in rapidly changing contexts, and it deepens the precariousness of our working environment.”

Socolovsky called on governments to begin the intersessional work that had already been agreed to and to move forward using the texts already on the table. “We urgently need a legal framework that supports decent and secure working conditions and guarantees the right to education as a public good,” she concluded.

Don’t cut the signal: broadcast treaty threatens knowledge access

The draft WIPO Broadcast Treaty also dominated discussions at SCCR 46. Originally intended to protect traditional broadcast signals, the scope has now expanded to include digital platforms, such as webcasting services and platforms like YouTube. While minor improvements were made to the treaty text, EI remains deeply concerned about the absence of mandatory exceptions for education and research.

EI voiced strong opposition to a treaty that risks “cutting the signal” for teachers and learners. Without proper safeguards, the treaty could severely restrict the use of recorded or live TV materials, or streamed educational content, in classrooms and academic settings.

Grace Nyongesa, from Kenya’s University Academic Staff Union, delivered a clear and compelling message on behalf of EI. Nyongesa highlighted the vital role of broadcast materials in education, especially in under-resourced and crisis-affected contexts: “TV broadcasting remains an essential tool for education in times of crisis, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis,” she said. “We urge you to recognise education as a human right and public good and to ensure the academic freedom for teachers to use materials by providing for mandatory exceptions in this draft text.”

EI remains deeply concerned that the disproportionate time spent on the Broadcast Treaty is diverting attention from the SCCR’s longstanding commitment to develop an international framework on exceptions and limitations for education and research. Delegates did not agree to move the treaty to a diplomatic conference, and discussions are set to continue at the next session in December 2025.

AI and copyright: a new frontier

The committee also held extensive discussions on artificial intelligence (AI), highlighting the complex legal and policy challenges posed by AI-generated content and training data. Governments are grappling with how to foster innovation while ensuring that creators receive fair remuneration and that large technology companies are held accountable for how they use copyrighted works as well as how to ensure adequate exceptions and limitations for public interest activities

EI underscored that any regulatory framework must protect the public interest and safeguard the role of educators in navigating and applying new technologies in the classroom.

Removing legal barriers to learning

EI’s presence at SCCR is driven by a commitment to securing a just and balanced copyright system—one that enables teachers to provide inclusive, high-quality education and researchers to engage in knowledge production without legal uncertainty.

This commitment aligns with EI’s global campaign, Go Public! Fund Education, which calls on governments and international institutions to invest in teachers and public education. The lack of legal clarity on copyright is part of a wider crisis that has led to underinvestment, teacher shortages, and growing barriers to the right to education.

As the Committee prepares to meet again in December 2025, EI continues to call on governments to prioritise the public interest and return to the negotiating table with the political will to make real progress on an international instrument for exceptions and limitations for education and research.

To learn more about EI’s work on education, research and copyright go here