Copyright law aims to strike a fair balance between the interests of rights holders and users of copyright protected materials. In the digital age, however, this delicate balance is under threat. Digital technologies facilitate unprecedented access to information but also allow for widespread copyright infringement. In the past, law and policymakers responded to these challenges chiefly by continuously strengthening copyright protection and focussing on stricter enforcement of copyright laws. In recent years, however, this approach has increasingly been called into question as it often disregards legitimate user interests in accessing copyrighted materials, e.g. in the educational arena. Also, a growing number of rights holders perceives copyright as a potential stumbling block for the widest-possible dissemination of their materials. While building upon copyright law, Creative Commons licences are a modern approach to balancing the rights of the creator and public access. These free licences allow rights holders to determine more flexibly under what conditions they want to distribute their materials. It is for these reasons that UCT’s recently approved new Intellectual Property Policy expressly supports the publication of materials under Creative Commons licences to promote the sharing of knowledge and the creation of Open Educational Resources (OERs). This Creative Commons Seminar – taking place at UCT’s Research Contracts and IP Services offices between 13h00 and 14h00 and presented by Creative Commons’ legal lead and IP Unit member Dr. Tobias Schonwetter – provides you with an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the Creative Commons approach to copyright licensing.

The full invitation can be accessed here.