InfoJustice

The South African Copyright Amendment Bill at the Constitutional Court: Notes from the Presidential Referral of the Bill (Part II)

In Part I of this blogpost, I briefly set out the procedural history of the copyright reform process that led to the Presidential Referral of the Bill to the Constitutional Court. I also briefly ...
InfoJustice

Copyright Implications of the Relationship Between Generative Artificial Intelligence and Text and Data Mining

In the heated copyright discussions over generative artificial intelligence, the term “text and data mining” is sometimes used interchangeably with “machine learning” or the “ingestion of material” to ...
InfoJustice

Covid-19 Trade Secrets and Information Access: An Overview

The unprecedented Covid-19 (Covid) virus has brought to the forefront many challenges associated with exclusive rights, information sharing, and innovation. How do we get effective diagnostics, ...
InfoJustice

What are the best examples of laws on technological protection measures with exceptions for lawful uses?

Last month, PIJIP asked people to recommend examples of domestic legal provisions regarding technological protection measures (TPMs) that include good protections of users engaged in lawful uses of ...
InfoJustice

What Project 2025 Says About Intellectual Property Policy in the Second Trump Administration

During the presidential campaign, the Heritage Foundation organized Project 2025, which produced a 925-page plan for transforming the federal government if Donald Trump were elected. Trump disavowed ...
InfoJustice

Sens. Jayapal, Warren Call on Patent Office to Take Critical Steps to Lower Drug Prices and Fight Big Pharma’s Patent Abuse

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Kathi Vidal, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office ...
InfoJustice

Comments to the United States Trade Representative Regarding South Africa Country Practice Review

Professor Sean Fiil-Flynn, Director of the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, American University Washington College of Law, and Professor Klaus Beiter, Professor of Law, ...
InfoJustice

The NOODL license: Licensing African datasets to support research and AI in the Global South

Who has the ability to take language data from African communities and develop an AI tool? Anyone with the capability can do that. And you’ll find that there are certain jurisdictions that have more ...
InfoJustice

WIPO General Assembly Meeting on SCCR Expresses Consensus for Progress on Broadcast and L&E Instruments

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held its General Assembly (GA) this week, including a review of the progress and recommendations of the Standing ...
InfoJustice

New Nigerian Copyright Act Creates Open Fair Dealing Exception

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to a new copyright act that updates the country’s exceptions and limitations for the digital environment. Most significantly, the act replaces a closed ...
InfoJustice

The South African Copyright Amendment Bill at the Constitutional Court: Notes from the Presidential Referral of the Bill (Part I)

On 21 and 22 May 2025, the South African Constitutional Court heard the matter of Ex Parte President of the Republic of South Africa: In re Constitutionality of the ...
InfoJustice

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA HIGHLIGHTS THE URGENCY OF COPYRIGHT REFORMS

The cost of excluding billions of people in Africa and the Global South from access to knowledge could be huge for future generations. Knowledge-sharing in Africa is not always transactional, and the ...