A Cobweb of Exception to Copyright Law for Research Purposes

• Author: Ratnaria Wahid, Khadijah Mohamed
• Pages: 258-268

JICLT

Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology

Vol.9, No.4 (2014)

258

A Cobweb of Exception to Copyright Law

for Research Purposes

Ratnaria Wahid

School of International Studies

College of Law, Government and International Studies,

Universiti Utara Malaysia

ratnaria@uum.edu.my

Khadijah Mohamed

School of Law

College of Law, Government and International Studies,

Universiti Utara Malaysia

khadijah@uum.edu.my

Abstract. Access to copyrighted materials and resources for

research purposes have been increasingly conducted across borders. In

certain circumstances, access to copyright materials that may be needed

for research purposes may be restricted due to copyright law.

International copyright conventions do provide exceptions to copyright

law for research purposes as what ha s been generally covered under the

‘three step test’. However, this rule may be interpreted either narrowly or

flexibly by member countries, which leads to different countries adapting

different laws pertaining to it. This paper analyses the Malaysian

copyright provision relating to copyright exceptions that may be used for

research purposes and its recent amendments made in 2012 as compared

to Australia an d the United Kingdom provisions. This paper will discuss

the implications of the r ecent amendment and further explains the future

direction researchers could take to ensure the legality of their actions

when using copyrighted materials for research purposes.

1. Introduction

A work created or authored, whether entertainment or informational is no longer

confined to a single jurisdiction, but can be easily disseminated around the world

through the Internet. In today’s globalized world, materials and resources available in

other jurisdictions may be highly relevant to another person across the world. Apart

from private individuals, various multinational corporations produce, distribute content

and often operate their businesses across national borders. In addition to this,

collaborative projects and research cooperation between higher education institutions in

various countries have constantly been designed, funded and developed.