Creativity and creative works are inseparable. Copyright is both positive as well as negative right. It facilitates further creations by the society in one hand and prevents others to use of creative works beyond a certain level in the other. World Social Science Report 2016 published by the United Nations clearly emphasised about prevalence of knowledge inequality in our society. This inequality is inevitable if we do not practise fair use of our knowledge. It not only hinders us to become a knowledge society at large but also seriously interfereswith our basic mission of higher education particularly in our universities. Advancement of learning and promotion of scholarship in higher education in developing countries like India clearly depends on effective use of the pre-existing copyrighted works. Even in the recent landmark judgement in September 2016, Delhi High Court also attested and upheld that view.
This book identified the genesis and provisions of fair use in the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 with an international flavour. Fair use has always been considered as a grey area by legal pundits but this title has demonstrated that it can alsoact as an opportunity administering a safety valve to bring balance in the quest of interpretive certainty needed for the society for further advancement of knowledge over the existing ones. It goes on to deeper understanding of fair use with a How-To-Determine format to keep one in the right side of the law and analyse a plethora of national and international case studies. Academic community in a number of universities has been studied investigating their awareness regarding fair use of copyrighted resources and discovered a disturbing trend. This study calls for a balanced and well-knit copyright management policy.
This volume scripted a copyright management policy for universities which is at present completely missing in India. This policy template can be of immense help in formulating such policy in neighbouring countries and other developing countriesas well. Keeping in view of that, this book also examined fair use provisions in the related acts in SAARC countries.
With a comprehensive introduction adding a thorough understanding of fair use in Indian and in global context, this volume will be invaluable for faculty members, researchers and students of any discipline, staff and the whole creative community of any university. Concise but penetrating, An Introduction to Fair Use and Copyright Management of Universities in India will prove handy and practical to academia as a whole.
