Programme
Access to Knowledge
Copyright, patents and Indian-language Wikimedia projects. 1,320 items.
24 May 2012
Blog post
Copyright MadnessPrompted by courts and piracy-fearing businesses, Indian ISPs have taken down popular, legitimate websites. This Op-ed by Lawrence Liang and Achal Prabhala was published in the Indian Express on May 22, 2012.
23 May 2012
Blog post
Analysis of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012There are some welcome provisions in the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012, and some worrisome provisions. Pranesh Prakash examines five positive changes, four negative ones, and notes the several missed opportunities. The larger concern, …
2 May 2012
Blog post
2012 Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest: Call for Participation and Save the DateThe Second Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest will take place in FGV Law School, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil from December 15 to 17, 2012. The theme for this year’s Congress will be “Setting the positive agenda in …
30 Mar 2012
Blog post
An Analysis of the Comments by World Blind Union and the International Publishers AssociationRahul Cherian provides an analysis of the comments by the World Blind Union and the International Publishers Association after the 23rd session of the Standing Committee of Copyright and Related Rights.
16 Mar 2012
Blog post
Expert Meeting on Freedom of Expression and Intellectual Property RightsThis report provides an overview of the discussion from the Expert Meeting on Freedom of Expression and Intellectual Property Rights, organized by ARTICLE 19 in London on November 18, 2011.
8 Mar 2012
Blog post
Patented GamesSome prefer Steve Jobs, patron saint of perfection, others prefer Nicholas Negroponte, messiah of the masses. While Mr Jobs may be guilty of contributing to the digital divide, Mr Negroponte may have contributed to bridging it with his …
28 Feb 2012
Blog post
Web Accessibility Policy Making: An International PerspectiveG3ict and CIS are pleased to announce the publication of a new, improved edition of the Web Accessibility Policy Making: An International Perspective. The report published in cooperation with the Hans Foundation provides an updated synopsis …
20 Feb 2012
Blog post
Analysis of Copyright Expansion in the India-EU FTA (July 2010)In this blog post, Snehashish Ghosh examines the copyright clauses in the July 2010 leak of the India-EU FTA, and points out how the EU's demands go beyond India's international obligations, and necessitate harmful changes in Indian law.
23 Dec 2011
Blog post
The Digital Classroom: Social Justice and PedagogyWhat happens when we look at the classroom as a space of social justice? What are the ways in which students can be engaged in learning beyond rote memorisation? What innovative methods can be evolved to make students stakeholders in their …
15 Dec 2011
Blog post
Invisible Censorship: How the Government Censors Without Being SeenThe Indian government wants to censor the Internet without being seen to be censoring the Internet. This article by Pranesh Prakash shows how the government has been able to achieve this through the Information Technology Act and the …
1 Dec 2011
Blog post
Comment by CIS at ACE on Presentation on French Charter on the Fight against Cyber-CounterfeitingThe seventh session of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Advisory Committee on Enforcement is being held in Geneva on November 30 and December 1, 2011. Pranesh Prakash responded to a presentation by Prof. Pierre Sirinelli of …
1 Dec 2011
Blog post
CIS Intervention on Future Work of the WIPO Advisory Committee on EnforcementThe seventh session of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE) is being held in Geneva on November 30 and December 1, 2011. Pranesh Prakash intervened during the discussion of future work of …
1 Dec 2011
Blog post
CIS Hosts Scanned Version of George Orwell’s Books vs. CigarettesVerbindingen/Jonctions (V/J), the bi-annual multidisciplinary festival organised by Constant is taking place on December 1, 2011. Amateur scanning of books often raises a lot of questions, around the issue of copyright. For this V/J13 is …
29 Nov 2011
Blog post
Statement of CIS on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty at the 23rd SCCRThe twenty-third session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is being held in Geneva from November 22, 2011 to December 2, 2011. Pranesh Prakash delivered this statement on a new proposal made by South Africa and …
3 Nov 2011
Blog post
Of Jesters, Clowns and Pranksters: YouTube and the Condition of Collaborative AuthorshipThe idea of a single author creating cinematic objects in a well-controlled scheme of support system and production/distribution infrastructure has been fundamentally challenged by the emergence of digital video sharing sites like YouTube, …
4 Oct 2011
Blog post
CIS-TWN Analysis of WIPO Treaty for the Print Disabled (SCCR/22/15)CIS and the Third World Network (TWN) conducted a quick analysis of the "Consensus document on an international instrument on limitations and exceptions for persons with print disabilities presented by Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, …
9 Sep 2011
Blog post
Calling Out the BSA on Its BSThe Business Software Alliance (BSA) is trying to pull wool over government officials' eyes by equating software piracy with tax losses. Pranesh Prakash points out how that argument lacks cogency, and that tax losses would be better averted …
2 Sep 2011
Blog post
Photocopying the pastThere is no single correct position when it comes to intellectual property or IP. In fact, there are at least five correct positions that you could possibly adopt based on who you are — a pro-creator position, a pro-entrepreneur position, a …
30 Aug 2011
Blog post
Govt for Legalising Parallel Import of Copyright Works; Publishers OpposeSection 2(m) legalises the parallel imports of books and other copyrighted material into India and was part of the initial Copyright Amendment Bill introduced in the Parliament of India in 2010.
30 Aug 2011
Blog post
Copyright Amendment Bill in ParliamentThe Copyright Amendment Bill is expected to be presented in the Rajya Sabha by the Minister for Human Resource and Development, Kapil Sibal today afternoon. The much awaited Bill (since it has been in the offing since 2006) has undergone …
8 Jul 2011
Blog post
Don't Shoot the Messenger: Speech on Intermediary Liability at 22nd SCCR of WIPOThis is a speech made by Pranesh Prakash at an side-event co-organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Internet Society on intermediary liability, to coincide with the release of Prof. Lillian Edwards's …
22 Jun 2011
Blog post
Statement of CIS, India, on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty at the 22nd SCCRThe twenty-second session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is being held in Geneva from June 15 to June 24, 2011. Nirmita Narasimhan and Pranesh Prakash are attending the conference. CIS delivered its statement, on …
17 Jun 2011
Blog post
Putting a Lid on Royalty Outflows — How the RBI can Help Reduce India's IP CostsWhile entrepreneurs, IP rights-holders and everyone else who has a stake continue to voice their opinions on the appropriate shape that the Indian IP regime ought to take, they tend to narrow their discussions to the language of substantive …
17 May 2011
Blog post
Consumers International IP Watchlist 2011 — India ReportPranesh Prakash prepared the India Report for the Consumers International IP Watchlist 2011. The report was published on the A2K Network website.
21 Mar 2011
Blog post
Comments to the Ministry on WIPO Broadcast Treaty (March 2011)As a follow up to a stakeholder meeting called by the MHRD on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty, CIS provided written comments on the April 2007 Non-Paper of the WIPO Broadcast Treaty, emphasising the need for a signal-based approach to be taken on …
9 Mar 2011
Blog post
Pirates, Plagiarisers, PublishersThis article attempts to rescue not by denying the charges of plagiarism, but by charting an alternative trajectory of plagiarism so that each successive instance does not amplify our sense of embarrassment and crisis in the academy. The …
25 Feb 2011
Blog post
Exhaustion: Imports, Exports and the Doctrine of First Sale in Indian Copyright LawThis article by Pranesh Prakash was published in the Manupatra Intellectual Property Reports, February 2011, Volume 1, Part 2, pp. 149-160. In this short note, the author argues that Indian courts have fundamentally misunderstood the …
11 Feb 2011
Blog post
Thomas Abraham's Rebuttal on Parallel ImportationWe engaged in an e-mail conversation with Thomas Abraham, the managing director of Hachette India, on the issue of parallel importation of books into India. We thought it would be in the public interest to publish a substantive part of that …
1 Feb 2011
Blog post
Indian Law and "Parallel Exports"Recently, a lawyer for the publishing industry made the claim that allowing for parallel importation would legally allow for the exports of low-priced edition. Here we present a legal rebuttal of that claim.
25 Jan 2011
Blog post
Why Parallel Importation of Books Should Be AllowedThere has been much controversy lately with some publishers trying to stop the government from amending s.2(m) of the Indian Copyright Act, clarifying that a parallel import will not be seen as an "infringing copy". This blog post argues …