[Random-bits] CSC Statement on proposal by Chile at WIPO

[James Love]

Thiru Balasubramaniam delivered this statement today in Geneva during
the meeting on the WIPO Development Agenda.  http://www.wipo.int/
meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=3D9643) .  CPTech is one of the
members of the CSC.  The proposal by Chile (available from the link
given above) is quite important, and one indication of how much the
debates at WIPO have changed in the past two years (for the
better).    Jamie

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Civil Society Coalition Statement to the Provisional Committee on
Proposals related to a WIPO Development Agenda

Comments on Chilean proposal

February 21, 2006

Thank you Ambassador. As this is the first time the Civil Society
Coalition is taking the floor, please let me congratulate you on your
election to the chair.

The Civil Society Coalition welcomes the Chilean proposal to the PCDA
which articulates three main points: (1) recognizing the value of the
public domain, (2) the "importance of complementary systems to and in
intellectual property" and (3) conducting a "study for assessing what
are the appropriate levels of intellectual property, considering the
particular situation in each country, specifically its degree of
development and institutional capacity". WIPO is at the forefront of
normative processes involving such negotiations as the Substantive
Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) and the broadcasting/webcasting treaty which
could potentially lock-in countries into greater privatizations of
knowledge, and a shrinking of the public domain. Much of this work
appears to have been motivated by an uncritical belief that the
enclosure of knowledge is the best way to promote creativity,
invention and development. But the CSC believes this older way of
looking at things is wrong, and outdated. The great success of the
Internet, which is based upon public domain technologies, the free
software and open access publishing movements, and projects like the
Human Genome Project illustrate how useful it is share knowledge
goods widely. We believe that the Chilean proposal, which says the
"public domain is fundamental for ensuring access to knowledge" is an
explicit effort to have greater balance at WIPO.

CSC adds however, that it may be useful to modify the Chilean
proposal by expanding the phrase, "the public domain" to the more
inclusive, "the public domain and other elements of the knowledge
commons."

We are learning not only the value and importance of the pure public
domain, where knowledge is not owned by anyone, but also, the value
of the other elements of the knowledge commons, where the private
owners of knowledge goods make them freely available to everyone --
like the Wikipedia, much of the free software licensed under the GNU
General Public License for free software, or the Creative Commons, to
mention just a few examples.

In this context, we also encourage WIPO to look at the issue of open
standards, an aspect of the public domain and the knowledge commons
that is very important for innovation and for development. Open
standards will provide more opportunities for new businesses and
other knowledge good organizations and communities to participate in
the creation and design of the new knowledge ecology.

Also, with regard to the importance of complementary systems to and
in intellectual property, we highlight recent events at the World
Health Organization=92s Executive Board which recently submitted to the
World Health Assembly, the highest decision-making body of the WHO, a
draft resolution on a "Global Framework on Essential Health Research
and Development". The resolution provides a process to consider a new
global regime that is consistent with human rights and public health
priorities. The proposed resolution recognizes the importance and
relevance of public sector and open source methods of supporting and
doing R&D, and the need to have an appropriate balance between the
public domain and intellectual property rights.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

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

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