Facilitating Educational Needs in Digital Era: Adequacy of Fair Dealing Provisions of Indian Copyright Act in Question

Abstract

The recent educational policy of India has recognized the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to meet the educational needs in the digital era. But some of the objects of the policy like making available suitable e-content, preparing knowledge modules, facilitating e-learning etc. look far-off, given the extant set of fair dealing provisions in the Indian Copyright Act. Against this backdrop, this paper delineates the doctrine of fair use and that of fair dealing followed by an account of international regime of fair use in copyright specific to education. Subsequently, it analyses the concerned fair dealing provisions of Indian Copyright Act and finds that they are too narrow and inadequate to foster the educational needs. The paper concludes with the view and suggestion that India needs to step beyond the fair dealing doctrine and head towards the doctrine of fair use through complementary role of the legislature and the judiciary on the lines how it happened in Canada. Over and above, there is a need to undertake some incentive-oriented policies encouraging copyright owners to forgo their commercial interests to some extent for the sake of education.