Copyright, Access to Knowledge, and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
Faith O. Aboyeji, Copyright, Access to Knowledge, and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (2020) 42 E.I.P.R, Issue 1, 42-54
19 Pages Posted: 8 Feb 2023
Date Written: 2019
Abstract
Knowledge and knowledge embedded goods are critical in meeting the basic needs of humanity such as food, education, and health care – all of which are reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is not enough to create knowledge, its accessibility on fair terms should also be facilitated for the overall benefit of the society. While copyright protection incentivises the creation of certain knowledge goods, an overly protectionist copyright system may, however, inhibit access to the created knowledge. This can become a barrier to achieving the SDGs. This paper therefore examines the impact of the international copyright system on access to knowledge. The paper argues that copyright can be reconstructed to facilitate meaningful access to knowledge for all peoples and suggests areas for reconstruction.
Keywords: access to information, copyright, developing countries, international law, knowledge, sustainable development, United Nations
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