Tulsa City-County Library CEO Gary Shaffer has been invited to join the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organization's May meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. Shaffer was invited as a delegate by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
The Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights was set up to focus on matters of copyright law internationally at the treaty level. It attempts to bring various sets of national copyright laws into better alignment with one another. It is convened by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The work of the Standing Committee is important to Tulsans, as well as all Americans, because, among other things, it focuses on exceptions and limitations to copyright law which allow libraries to lend materials and offer access to other information. This is especially important now that more and more information is available only in a digital format. The committee also focuses on special allowances that allow materials to be reworked to better serve the visually impaired.
The World Intellectual Property Organization is a global forum for intellectual property services, policy, information and cooperation. It facilitates patents, trademarks, industrial designs in addition to copyright, worldwide.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions on the other hand is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their customers. It is the global voice of the library and information profession.
"Tulsa is a global city," Shaffer said. "Many of our locally headquartered businesses, churches, civic enterprises and museums conduct work or render aid internationally. It is important that Tulsa's opinion is incorporated into global decisions, that our voice be heard and others recognize us for the global city that we are."
Shaffer's trip is sponsored by a local Tulsa foundation.
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