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Unequal access to educational materials is a persistent structural problem in the global South. Barriers to access, including those posed by copyright, affect marginalised groups acutely. To what extent does law create the problem of unequal access, and how may law operate to mitigate it? To answer these questions, this book unpacks access norms in copyright law and human rights law and their interaction.

Part I provides the international law doctrinal framework, demonstrating that the right to education in international human rights law includes a right of access to educational materials imposing obligations on States. This overlaps substantially with provisions in copyright treaties that permit States to enact exceptions for educational access outside the market. However, States parties to both treaty regimes often legislate to prioritise market access, under-realising access for marginalised groups. Part II offers an explanation for this phenomenon, through a critical analysis of the tensions across access norms and the design of international adjudicatory and monitoring institutions in both treaty regimes. The book illustrates how the normative environment structures interpretive choices in resolving these tensions, impacting outcomes. Part III considers how access norms are adjudicated and legislated in India and South Africa, highlighting the interaction between international and domestic law.

Overall, the book provides an integrated way of thinking about how law creates, reifies and mitigates material and social realities.