[Random-bits] Knowledge Ecology International wins MacArthur award for Creative and Effective Institutions

[James Love]

http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.2026381/apps/nl/=20
content2.asp?content_id=3D{4965561C-637E-4E65-BD56-10950475F7DE}&notoc=3D1=


MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions

Knowledge Ecology International

Advancing the public interest in intellectual property policy

The inventions of scientists, the recordings of musicians, and the =20
images created by artists are all protected under intellectual =20
property law.  These protections exist to encourage innovation and =20
creativity.  What happens when these protections and benefits turn =20
into barriers?   What if a country cannot afford the medicines or =20
journals covered by such laws?  Where does the balance lie between =20
rights of intellectual property owners and the rights of the public?  =20=

When should knowledge and the products it creates be shared freely?  =20
These are some of the complex questions that Knowledge Ecology =20
International grapples with daily.

KEI promotes balanced intellectual property polices in U.S. law and =20
in international agreements and norms.  It supports providing =20
reasonable benefits and incentives to creators and owners, while =20
making essential knowledge and goods accessible and affordable to the =20=

broadest possible public.  It is an effective broker and guide in =20
this increasingly complex debate and one that is sought out worldwide.

For more than a decade, KEI led the successful campaign to lower =20
prices of medicines essential for treating AIDS and other diseases =20
through =93compulsory licenses.=94  It brought about numerous changes in =
=20
international trade policy, working with nongovernmental =20
organizations and academic partners to design a new trade framework =20
and new financing mechanisms for medical research and development.

More recently, KEI has called on the World Intellectual Property =20
Organization to take a more balanced approach between promoting =20
intellectual property rights and serving the public interest.  It =20
seeks to slow or stop work on treaties that could restrict severely =20
access to knowledge.  These include the broadcast treaty, which would =20=

give broadcasters rights over the recording, retransmission, and =20
reproduction of their broadcast signals for 50 years =96 separate from =20=

the rights to the content.  KEI promotes a fundamental rethinking of =20
the database treaty, which provides copyright protection to facts =20
once they are aggregated into a database.  The goal is to ensure that =20=

developing countries have adequate and affordable access to knowledge =20=

and technology.

KEI's small staff, led by economist James Love, is highly =20
entrepreneurial, regularly proposing new business models and =20
incentive structures.  They are also skilled diplomats.  KEI is =20
regularly sought out for its expertise by United Nations agencies, =20
national governments, small organizations, and others struggling with =20=

intellectual property issues.

For more information visit www.cptech.org.
	  	Related Links

Knowledge Ecology International's Website (formerly Consumer Project =20
on Technology)
MacArthur's Intellectual Property Grantmaking


---------------------------------
James Love, CPTech / www.cptech.org / mailto:james.love@cptech.org / =20
tel. +1.202.332.2670 / mobile +1.202.361.3040

"If everyone thinks the same: No one thinks."  Bill Walton