[wilhelmtux-discussion] Re: World Summit on the Information Society - FSF at WSIS? WSIS documents and Intellectual Property Rightss -

Claude Almansi claude.almansi at bluewin.ch
Son Mar 30 12:43:39 CEST 2003


Dear Alex,

Thanks for the accurate reading of these documents. One observation on your
statement::
"I also think there is a misconception between the role of intellectual
property rights:  There is no balance between IPRs and public interest.
IPRs exist in order to ensure a balance between authors and the public
interest." - where you presumably refer to the following passages you quote:

(report of PrepCom2):

"23. It is important to ensure a balance between intellectual property
    rights (IPR) and the public interest. While intellectual property
    rights play a vital role in fostering innovation in software, e-
    commerce and associated trade and investment, there is a need to
    promote initiatives to ensure fair balance between IPRs and the
    interests of the users of information, while also taking into
    consideration the global consensus achieved on IPR issues in
    multilateral organizations;"

 (Draft Action Plan):

"34. Intellectual property rights: It is important to ensure a balance
    between intellectual property rights (IPR) and the public
    interest:

    - While IPRs play a vital role in fostering innovation in
      software, e-commerce and associated trade and investment, there
      is a need to promote initiatives to ensure fair balance between
      IPRs and the interests of the users of information, while also
      taking into consideration the global consensus achieved on IPR
      issues in multilateral organizations.

    - An appropriate legal framework should be defined for the
      development of a public domain of information and knowledge."

You are right insofar as IPRs already insure this balance, per se.
Apparently  we have a translation problem here: some French speakers tend to
avoid "copyright" and render it as "droits de propriété intellectuelle" or
"droits d'auteur" - out of absurd respect for the rules of "francophonie" ,
and considering the English of the documents post Prep-Com2, they have
obviously been written in English by a French native speaker. This could be
an instance of retranslation not landing where it started from (copyright >
droits de propriété intellectuelle > IPRs - instead of back to copyright)

So what these passages really aim at, apparently, is preserving a public
commons from the trend evidenced, for instance,  in the US Digital Millenium
Copyright Act (DMCA), extending the duration of copyright by 20 years.

This terminology issue must be corrected, of course. But the concept of
"balance" must be kept explicitly. Otherwise, the private and government
sectors might take advantage of this to further encroach on public commons.

Finally, thank you for the pdf to text, Alex. I wish these documents were in
.html on the WSIS site, though. .pdf and word pages can't be read them from
many public internet access points (libraries, cybercafes) in Switzerland,
which only offer a browser. Sure, in that, Switzerland is certainly among
the "LDC's" (Less Developped Countries), ICT-wise. But during the UNESCO
(CH) round table on the Digital Divide for WSIS in Lugano, a fortnight ago,
D. Stauffacher, Swiss Ambassador to WSIS, told me he had got several e-mails
from people in Southern countries complaining they couldn't open these pdf
or word pages. He also said that the web mistress for the executive
secretariate was working on this. Let's hope it doesn't take her too long.

Have a nice Sunday,

Claude

Claude Almansi
Coordinatrice In/formazione
www.adisi.ch
v. Cantonale 22
CH-6532 Castione
Svizzera

"In times of change, the learner will inherit the earth while the learned
are beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists. "
Eric Hoffer