The Interface between Right to Education and Copyright Law Does Copyright Law Inhibit the Enjoyment of Right to Education?

Abstract The Right to Education, recognized as a basic human right in international and domestic legal regimes and instruments alike, has not seen its realization to the fullest extent, in both developed and developing countries. One of the reasons, inter alia, is the high cost of educational materials owing to existing copyright practices and policies of the publishing industry, most of which are concentrated in developed countries of USA and Europe. The paper seeks to explore the extent to which copyright law impedes the fulfillment of the right to education, and discuss the alternatives that seek to balance these conflicting rights. The paper is divided into three parts: the first part of the paper discusses the embodiment of the right to education in several national and instruments, the extent of problem of the lack of access to educational materials due to copyright protection. The next part of the paper discusses the flexibilities provided in international copyright law and efficacy of the same, primarily the doctrine of fair use. The last part of the paper discusses alternatives to fair use and impact of these supplementary mechanisms.