Report: Copyright is Pricing Consumers Out of Knowledge

A Consumers International report has condemned World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) technical assistance as 'thoroughly inadequate', and is demanding a wholesale review of the organisation's legislative advice to developing countries. Titled Copyright and Access to Knowledge, the report concludes that the copyright law of 11 Asian countries, including China, India and Malaysia, have given copyright owners far more protection than the intellectual property treaties they have signed up to require and fail to take advantage of copyright exemptions and limitations written into international IP treaties. The report concludes that copyrighted educational materials are too expensive with the result that consumers are being priced out of access to knowledge. Report Press release Consumers International's statement to WIPO