34th SCCR: CIS Statement on the Discussion on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

CIS works on issues of access to knowledge and other digitalrights in India.

I would like to share with you my experience which highlightsthe difficulty of building digital archives in India. Mr. Chair, earlier lastyear the government of India embarked upon the important project of digitizingthe cultural audiovisual material stored in government and private collections to store material for preservation purposes,and set up a virtual network of these repositories to offer online access. Myorganization has been assisting them in this crucial public service mission. These works are oral traditions, dance,music, theatrical practices, cultural practices – all of which lie largelyinaccessible and languishing in several small and large collections in India.Since, the Indian copyright Act does not contain an exception for the purposesof preservation by an archive; the entire project has suffered high costs interms of money and time. Money, because the project had to get expensive legalassistance to set up processes to obtain rights clearance from all theperformers who were a part of the works and copyright holders- some of whichare orphan works, thereby compounding the problem. Further, partneringorganizations also expressed legitimate fears of supplying their works, in caseof a potential copyright and related rights violation that could implicate themwith civil/criminal liability.

In such a scenario, for the benefit of other states toupdate their standards corresponding to this international legal instrument aswell, it would indeed be useful to adopt the proposals mentioned in the document SCCR/26/3 thataddress these issues, and others.

Thank you.