[Fwd: [Bukas] Final - Intellectual imperialism thru IPR - an open letter to the artist]
Al Alegre
Subject: [Bukas] Final - Intellectual imperialism thru IPR - an open
letter to the artist
From: "Fatima Lasay" <digiteer AT ispx.com.ph>
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Dear friends,
Please share with your networks.
Comments, discussions invited, thru
http://korakora.org/proyekto/intellectual-property-rights-intellectual-imperialism
Regards,
Fatima
Intellectual imperialism thru IPR - an open letter to the artist
http://korakora.org/proyekto/intellectual-property-rights-intellectual-imperialism
Dear friend in the arts,
You might be mildly aware that there is an ongoing campaign towards the
strengthening of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement in the
Philippines as the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced
plans in April 2008 to pursue more aggressive IP protection schemes with
its trading partners around the world.
This global campaign aims to include stronger IPR provisions (often
promoted by the USTR as "world-class" IPR provisions) in many free trade
agreements being pursued with many countries, calling for more
sophisticated protections for digital products such as software, movies and
music, and implementing stronger protection for US patents and test data
(which are monopolized by large pharmaceuticals and needed by domestic
regulators for the registration of generic medicines after their patents
have expired) in the pharmaceutical industry.
The approval and enforcement of touted "world-class" IPR provisions into
trade agreements aim to allow US products and services more access into
more markets around the world especially in the developing countries, the
liberalization of investment laws to enable more US claims into domestic
resource, and the removal of export barriers where these currently exist in
national law or in the implementation of obligations under the WTO-TRIPS
Agreements.
Today, even higher standards of IP protection and enforcement are being
brought upon countries of the developing world through the new narratives
of security, border control and police enforcement.
Following the overwhelming demoralization of alternative business, creative
cultural practices and development models in many developing countries by
casting them in the wide rhetorical sensationalist net of "piracy",
"counterfeit", "theft" and "illicit", higher standards in international IP
protection and enforcement are being spear-headed by the US through a new
non-transparent treaty-making process involving a handful of the wealthiest
countries in the world with interests inimical to the domestic development
policies of many developing countries.
Touted as the "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement" or ACTA, this proposed
treaty aims to create a new global standard for a stronger top-down
enforcement regime covering strict enforcement of intellectual property
rights related to Internet activity, criminalization of copying under a
wide variety of contexts, and higher IPR enforcement measures in trade in
information-based goods hiding behind the issue of false trademarks.
Another forum being used by the US and the wealthiest countries in the
world in their IP expansionist agenda is under the World Customs
Organization (WCO)'s proposed Standards Employed by Customs for Uniform
Rights Enforcement or SECURE. SECURE brings IP enforcement beyond the
existing standards of the TRIPS Agreements through the back-door of
international border controls, proposing to enlarge the powers of Customs
Administrations to be the watchdog of IP enforcement and give them
authority well beyond their current mandate.
While IP units have already been established within the Philippine Bureau
of Customs and in customs agencies in other countries, the campaigning,
giving of grants and the bullying have apparently not moved the IP agenda
up in the time the USTR desires. ACTA and SECURE, two of the many "war
against terror" instruments being pushed before the end of term of the Bush
Administration, intend to seal with certainty the winnings of the long and
aggressive political and ideological IP campaigns launched against the
intellectual, economic and cultural sovereignty of developing countries
worldwide.
The Arts as IP-Philippines centerpiece
In April 2007, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP
Philippines) celebrated World IP Day with member states of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The centerpiece of the local
celebration was the opening of an art exhibition in a gallery space called
"Alab Art Space" located at the ground floor of the IP office building.
"Alab" boasts of being the first art space in an IP office in Southeast Asia.
In a special section called "Exhibits Asia" in The Philippine Star,
Thursday, April 26, 2007, there were three news articles: (a) IP
Philippines celebrates World IP Day, encouraging creativity among Filipino
artists, entrepreneurs, inventors; (b) BSA awards citation to Pilipinas
Anti-Piracy Team; (c) Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team cracks down on
users/sellers of pirated software in Davao City.
Advertising for the IPO press release included Lacoste, Business Software
Alliance (BSA), Microsoft, Vera Law, BNU Intellectual Property Attorneys,
iProbe (investigation and consulting firm), and the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy
Team (PAPT) consisting of the National Bureau of Investigation, Optical
Media Board and Philippine National Police.
As announced in the press release, part of the mandate of the
IP-Philippines is training, campaigning and servicing for the protection of
IPR as an important strategic tool for national development in the current
global knowledge economy, with not a single mention of alternative IP
domains such as the commons, open-source and copyleft licensing nor the
on-going contestation of the IP regime worldwide especially in the
developing countries.
With some kowtowing to the arts in the effort to highlight the rhetoric of
"protection of intellectual property rights helps stimulate creativity and
innovation", IP-Philippines celebrated World IP Day through the signing of
an MOU with the US Patents and Trademarks Office for the joint effort of
safeguarding US intellectual property in the Philippines, upgrading
Philippine intellectual property law to be "at par with international
standards", and the creation of mechanisms by which patented technologies
may be commercialized.
With the arts being advocated as IP-Philippines' centerpiece, I call on all
artists to challenge the "piracy" and "counterfeit" discourse of the
Intellectual Property Rights regime in the Philippines and worldwide, to
continue to follow local and international developments in IP protection
and enforcement, and to (re)claim and enhance the creative process by
taking commentary, questioning and exposing the myths of the IP
expansionist regime.
As an artist confronted with the balancing of the multiplicity of
perspectives, possibilities and outcomes in the creative process, I am
appalled that mainstream media continues to lack miserably in providing a
more balanced picture of the true social and political battles being waged
against the IP campaigns in the Philippines and worldwide. I am appalled at
the lack of a more creative and critical journalism that transcends the
template of "good IP enforcers vs. bad pirates" in the stream of
anti-piracy actions being urged by the US, a foreign country imposing its
will against Philippine sovereignty.
If IPR was created only as a means to encourage further creativity for the
ultimate benefit of all society in contrast to the more traditional forms
of property rights that are designed to protect the private interests of
their owners, then why are protection and enforcement measures more suited
for these more traditional forms of property rights being imposed upon
intellectual rights? Why are intellectual rights being made more and more
absolute like property rights? Why is copying being demoralized as "theft",
"piracy" and "illicit"? Why is copying called stealing even though the
original does not disappear?
Is there evidence that without IPR protection, creativity will cease and
that works produced will be substandard? Is the business model of IP the
only way or the best way to encourage innovation and creativity? Is the
selling of an idea and the commodification of culture the way for creators
to profit from their labors?
Why are IP protection and enforcement standards and agreements being made
by a few rich countries in secrecy, with meetings suddenly announced as
concluded, taking the process away from international scrutiny especially
in the interest of developing countries?
Is creativity measured by plus points gained with the USTR through catching
up on "global competitiveness" and manipulating our legal, social and
political systems to be at par with so-called international standards?
Is local creativity and innovation really stimulated by providing the level
of IPR protection and enforcement determined by the USTR and by increasing
market access for companies (mostly US entertainment, media and
pharmaceutical) relying on intellectual property protection?
With our imperceptible compromises, will we still recognize our Privacy,
Freedom of Expression Rights and our Creativity when these have been
destroyed by the moralistic campaigns of the US-led IP expansionist
coalition?
Is society and the creator truly the beneficiary of the global IP regime?
Through our practice and understanding of art, I hope that these questions
be constantly asked to challenge the IP agenda. These are the burning
issues that define the kind of society we envision for the future; let this
not be overwhelmed by the patronage of IP-Philippines and its counterparts
in the global IP expansionist regime.
Sincerely yours,
Fatima Lasay
http://korakora.org/proyekto/
Munir Hasan
I would like to share some recent moves in my country, Bangladesh, in IPR.
We do really saw a lot of IPR issue related activities (Enforcing IPR?) here.
One of ICT Journalist in our country pointed out that all this began with the arrival of a new US Embassador in Bangladesh -
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/12080
(Quoting the first para- Immediate after joining US embassy at Dhaka as an ambassador James F Moriarty wrote an article in favor of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). My readers might see the articles published in English and Bangla daily newspapers. He wrote about Mustafa Jabbar and Tareque Masud as if he is a great user of Bijoy software and genuine fan of Tareque Masud¢s films.)
Then we noticed that the CopyRight office in the coutry become pro-active and celebrate IPR day in last month (or so)!
The government have had revised the CopyRight act (http://www.copyrightofficebd.com/copyright_act.php Sorry It is in Bangla) and incorporated all proposal by TRIPS-GATT few years back.
Then we saw suddenly that one organization has been set to protect music industry from "pirated" music! They are now organizing the musicians to uphold their music-rights and mobilize the media for their campaign for IPR (The largest circulating news paper published editorial on this issue) . All this local things are, I guess, inititaed as a part of a longer term agenda as correctly pointed by Fatima.
Recently, nepal government initiated some activities on alternate IPR issue in which one of our volunteer participated (Someone from Nepal may shed light on the outcome of the workshop). Nothing is happening in this line in Bangladesh.
From our network we are working with the writers to publish their books under a new licensing regime (Alternate IPR) and some of the prominent writer are now become a part of it (http://www.bdosn.org/news_view.php?news_id=125) . The srijoni Sadharon is the Localized idea of CC (we do not have CC in our country) which has now gaining some attention from various sector. We are actively pursuing with government to declare all Government documents as Public Domain, if possible!
However, what we realized is that we don't have a good number of expertise in this field and that actually helped the "Strong IPR" group to dominate in our country.
I am sharing our experience so that you can shed light how to go forward with this situation.
Thanks
--
Munir Hasan
General Secretary
Bangladesh Open Source Network
291 Sonargaon Road, Dhaka
http://www.bdosn.org
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."--Alan Kay
Munir Hasan
Sunil Abraham
Thanks for your comprehensive report on the depressing situation in
Bangladesh. The following organisations could advise you regarding the
changes in copyright law and enforcement in your country -
keionline.org, eifl.net, eff.org (I don't think Gwen is the right person
for IPR), IQSensato (Sisule's organisation). You should read Prof.
Geist's blog http://www.michaelgeist.ca/ -> he is one of the copyfighter
leading the attack on the Canadian DMCA. You can learn a lot from his
campaign on facebook etc.
The first step would be to get a lawyer to translate the revised
Copyright Act into English. Please see if this can be done at the
earliest.
Best wishes,
Sunil
Denise Nicholson
Hi,
Developed countries are constantly trying to pressure developed countries into adopting TRIPS Plus provisions through Free Trade Agreement and Economic Partnership Agreements. Developing countries have to resist these pressures at all costs as only the developed countries benefit from these IP Chapters.
On a personal/institutional level, I did a lot of lobbying to our SA Trade Office when the US was trying to get South Africa and 4 other Southern African countries to sign the FTA. I also sent them a lot of information about the controversial US/Australian FTA at the time. I also met with the UK DFID and USAID who placed the concerns of education and libraries re: FTA IP Chapter on the agenda with our Trade Office. Fortunately these countries did not sign the FTA for a number of reasons, but IPR was one of them.
My paper “Intellectual Property – Benefit or Burden for Africa?” may help to shed some light on these matters for other developing countries. http://www.ifla.org/V/iflaj/IFLA-Journal-4-2006.pdf (pg. 310-324)
Regards
Denise
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Hempal Shrestha
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the nice article above. It is very true that slowly, but very steadily, Nepal has also started facing pressure for incorporating Stronger IPR from the developed countries.
Munir, the program that you mentioned above in Nepal was Workshop on "An Alternative Perspective on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in Information Technology (IT)" jointly organized by FOSS Nepal Community, NITC Govt of Nepal and ACEN. Visit (http://wiki.fossnepal.org/index.php?title=IPR_Workshop) for more detail. The report of the proceedings is in process.
We had a very interactive and fruitful workshop. There was wonderful participation (more than 120) from all government ministries and other departments. Fouad from Pakistan and and Rashid from Bangladesh joined us as key resource person. We also identified some action items for raising awareness and capacity building of the government officials in these alternative perspectives of IPR in coming days. We hope to work more in collaboration in coming days of various aspect of promoting alternative IPRs in IT and accomplishing these action items in Nepal.
Also, other pressuring co-incidence was that another conference was organized on embracing Stronger IPR and its benefit in Nepal SAME day in Kathmandu by USAID in Nepal. Which simply speaks the gravity of issue and their interest in IPR.
I hope to hear more from other group members
Best Regards,
Hempal Shrestha
Kathmandu, Nepal
P.S. JFKI: James F Moriarty was US ambassador to Nepal before completing his term and appointed as ambassador to Bangladesh.
Hempal Shrestha
Program Officer
SAP International
P.O. Box:23025 ,
Sanepa, Lalitpur, Nepal
Tel: +977-1- 5522234 / 5528612 (Extn: 106) Fax: 5553126
Email: hshr...@bellanet.org, hem...@sapi.org.np
Website: http://www.bellanet.org http://www.sapint.org