Case Comment: Delhi University Photocopy Case from Nigerian and South African Contexts
Journal of Intellectual Property Laws (2018) Issue III, 21 -30
8 Pages Posted: 27 Oct 2018
Date Written: November 5, 2017
Abstract
In May 2017, the Indian Supreme Court (ISC) summarily dismissed a petition for leave to appeal against the judgement of the Division Bench of the Indian High Court (IHC) in New Delhi in the famous Delhi University photocopy case, which started in 2012. The petition for leave to appeal was lodged by the Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation (IRRO), which joined proceedings at the Division Bench of the IHC as an intervenor. The petition was summarily dismissed on the ground that the original plaintiffs in the case had withdrawn from the case and that the IRRO was a mere intervenor at the Division Bench. Thus, bringing to an end a five-years courtroom tussle concerning the rights of access to knowledge for the advancement of education in India. The comment examined the Delhi University photocopy case so as to determine its relevance within the Nigerian and South African contexts respectively. This is done on the premise that the judgment of the Indian courts in the Delhi University case is a model of how the courts can serve to promote access to knowledge for educational advancement in a developing country context. It is also a manifestation of how copyright law can be used to strike appropriate balance between copyright owners’ rights to sufficient reward for their creativity and the public interest in promoting creativity for the benefit of society.
Keywords: Copyright, Delhi University Case, A2K for education, India, Nigeria, South Africa
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