Today Friday April 26 2013 is World Intellectual Property Day 2013, which marks the 44th anniversary of the day on which the WIPO Convention came into force in 1970. Human Rights organization Article 19 have used the day as an opportunity to launch The Right to Share: Principles on Freedom of Expression and Copyright in the Digital Age (Right to Share Principles), a document that aims to guide policy makers, legislators, judiciary and civil society on how to balance the right to freedom of expression and copyright.
According to Article19:
These Principles seek to establish a framework which can be used to ensure firstly, that the right to freedom of expression and the ability to share knowledge and culture are fully protected in the digital age; and secondly, that copyright interests do not unduly restrict them. The Principles also seek to promote positive measures which foster both the free flow of information and ideas and greater access to knowledge and culture on the Internet and beyond.
Apart from English, the document is available in Spanish, French, and Portuguese, and is accompanied by a new global map documenting copyright laws worldwide.
