The “Regional Instrument on Permitted Uses in Copyright Law” (the Instrument) is the outcome of a Smart IP for Latin America research project aimed at achieving a balanced reconciliation of interests in copyright law. The project builds on earlier work coordinated by the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, which resulted in the International Instrument on Permitted Uses in Copyright Law, a legal instrument designed in the form of an international treaty establishing a core set of minimum permitted uses of works.

As with the International Instrument, the intention is for this core set of permitted uses to be binding on future Contracting Parties, while leaving them free to go beyond the minimum set of permitted uses provided for in the Instrument. The approach based on “minimum permitted uses” counterbalances the traditional “minimum protection” approach of international copyright law.

Among other things, this approach assists Contracting Parties in addressing the political pressure that is notoriously present in international negotiations, particularly in the context of bilateral or regional agreements. The Instrument consists of three parts: A. Permitted Uses; B. General Principles of Application; and C. Competition; Abuse. It is accompanied by explanatory notes clarifying the purpose and meaning of the Instrument and its provisions.