Copyright and Tertiary Education for Human Development: Rethinking the Policy, Law and Practice in Ethiopia

Abstract

This thesis explores the interplay between copyright and tertiary education, and their roles for sustainable human development in Ethiopia. Access to learning materials is used as a context for the exploration. Despite its recognition of development as a human and constitutional right, Ethiopia emphasizes economic growth as the core of its national development objectives. To this end, tertiary education is often considered for its instrumental role in human capital formation. Given this narrow lens of development, the thesis observes the neglect of human development as the enlargement of human capabilities. It is underscored that development-oriented copyright and tertiary education are both vital in themselves and complementary for sustainable human development. Nonetheless, their complementing roles depend upon relevant policy and legal flexibilities that facilitate access to learning materials. As a major context for the interplay, access to learning materials is essential for both sustainable creative innovation and quality tertiary education. Noting a restrictive copyright system as one of the impediments, the thesis thus inquiries into the regime and finds out the non-incorporation of relevant international copyright-related flexibilities. Adopting a TRIPs-plus approach, the existing national copyright law in Ethiopia has left out a number of legal flexibilities relevant for increased access to learning materials. Stifling creative and learning freedoms or capabilities, this has serious ramifications for sustainable human development. From human development perspective, the thesis further unveils lack of coherence in the regimes and proper orientations towards human development. Therefore, it is imperative to revisit the regimes, forge a coherence, and retract the excessive protection. A comprehensive integration of appropriate flexibilities is recommended to promote creative and learning capabilities for enhanced human development.