Access to Knowledge in the Developing World The Role of International Copyright Law

Worldwide, a copyright maximalist approach exacerbates socio-economic inequalities and the selective mobility of knowledge to only those who can afford to pay high prices. Structured in a distributive justice framework, Access to Knowledge in the Developing World provides insights into the substantive inequalities that deprive developing countries of adequate access to books and learning resources. This book focuses on the role of copyright and access to knowledge in building capacity for economic growth and development, examining the links between the copyright system and distributive justice. Opening with a historical overview of early bilateralism and the origin of multilateralism in the global copyright regime, Mahalwar takes a rights-based approach to the concept of development to explore legal solutions. By investigating global copyright barriers to accessing knowledge, this book thus explores whether the existing legal framework adequately addresses the educational and research requirements of the developing world. The findings add a novel perspective on the special access needs of developing countries and the accommodations provided to them through international instruments.

1 - Access to Knowledge and Development: An Overview
2 - International Copyright Law
3 - Access to Knowledge in the Developing World and International Copyright Law
4 - Access to Knowledge and Copyright Law in India: A Legal Analysis
5 - Access to Knowledge through Human Rights Framework
6 - Rhetoric for Access: A Review

Vandana Mahalwar is an Assistant Professor at the Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. Prior to this, she was an Assistant Professor at the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi. She has been a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow in 2019-2020 at Duke Law School, USA, where she worked on access to knowledge under international copyright law. Her work examines the issues pertaining to access to knowledge, right of publicity, copyright, and trademark law. Her previous books include Character Merchandising: Protection under the IP Laws (Springer, 2024) and Copyright Law in the Digital World: Challenges and Opportunities (Springer, 2017).