The World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights meets this week against the backdrop of a global health crisis that has fundamentally changed the way we teach and learn. Now copyright law must catch up.

It’s a common practice to distinguish the life cycles of students based on their enrolment by academic year or years. These year-numbers help us to navigate and plan. Due to the COVID-19, the year 2020, however, is not defined by its four different numbers but by something from the past year. For the world, and especially for ...