I.    Centrality of Human Rights in Information Society
II.   Freedom of Expression and Communication Implies Access to Tools
III.  Linking Trade with Intellectual Property Rights Perpetuates Poverty
IV.  Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks Defeat Original Purpose
V.    Public Domain of Global Knowledge Restricted
VI.   Promotion of Free Software as Development Tool
VII.  Internet Governance Transferred to International Entity

Civil Society Rejects Official WSIS Declaration of Principles
Publishes Own Declaration to Protect Civil Liberties in Information Society
December 21, 2003
By IP Justice Executive Director Robin D. Gross

I.    Centrality of Human Rights in Information Society

Members of civil society became so frustrated by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process that it published its own Declaration of Principles to contrast with the official documents drafted by representatives from government and business.  (IP Justice is a signatory to this civil society declaration.)  [Civil Society Declaration in English | Español | Français]

“Our voices and the general interest we collectively expressed are not adequately reflected in the Summit documents,” explained the unanimously adopted declaration by the WSIS Civil Society Plenary on 8 December 2003.   The civil society declaration argues that an information and communication society should be based on human rights and human dignity.

Titled “Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs” the civil society declaration “rejects at a fundamental level, the solely profit-motivated and market-propelled promotion of information and communication technologies for development,” that currently exists.  “Conscious and purposeful actions need to be taken in order to ensure that new information and communication technologies [ICTs] are not deployed to further perpetuate existing negative trends of economic globalization and market monopolization.”

The civil society declaration calls for “information and communication societies that are people-centered, inclusive and equitable.  Societies in which everyone can freely create, access, utilize, share and disseminate information and knowledge, so that individuals, communities and people are empowered to improve their quality of life and to achieve their full potential.”

Freedom of expression is central to any conception of an information society argued the civil society declaration; and security and other considerations should not be allowed to compromise freedom of expression rights.

It states that development should be framed by fundamental human rights, achieve a more equitable distribution of resources and lead to the elimination of poverty.  Civil society’s human rights approach to development is a stark contrast from the official WSIS Plan of Action, which marks advancement by the number of living rooms in the world that contain television sets.

II.    Freedom of Expression and Communication Implies Access to Tools

Similarly to the official WSIS documents, the civil society declaration “reaffirmed that communication is a fundamental societal process, a basic human need and foundation of all social organization.”  But the civil society declaration went further and recognized that in an information society, “this implies that every person must have access to the means of communication and must be able to exercise their right to freedom of expression.”

Civil society warned that no technology is neutral with respect to its social impacts.  It also worried that “information and knowledge are increasingly being transformed into private resources which can be controlled, sold and bought, as if they were simple commodities and not the founding elements of social organization and development.”

Civil society called for strengthening the legal framework to support broad-based sharing of technologies, information, and knowledge, and to foster respect for human rights and freedoms.  Article 19 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression and information, necessarily implies the availability and legality of the tools to access information and share knowledge.

 “ICT-based innovation should adhere to the use of international technical standards for hardware, software, and processes, which are open, freely implementable, publicly documented, interoperable, non-discriminatory and demand-driven.” [Para. 2.1.8]

III.    Linking Trade with Intellectual Property Rights Perpetuates Poverty

The civil society declaration calls into question the practice of linking developing nations’ access to financial resources including foreign trade with the adoption of western-style intellectual property rules.

“Among the frameworks [for financial resources] that need to be examined in terms of their potentially adverse effects on equitable development are the current arrangements for recognition and governance of monopolised knowledge and information, including the work of WIPO and the functioning of the TRIPS agreement.” [Para. 2.1.1]

Since many of the intellectual property rules that WIPO and TRIPS obliges developing countries to adopt actually hinders their ability to compete with western corporations or to provide medicine to their sick, these instruments serve to perpetuate poverty and dependence on the west.  Examples are WIPO’s anti-circumvention laws that create monopolies for adjacent markets and TRIPS requirement that countries permit patents on drugs, making medicines unaffordable or otherwise inaccessible to most people in developing nations.

Nations that do not sign-on to these international regulations are disadvantaged by not being permitted to engage in international trade on equal terms.  So if developing countries want to trade with the US, they must adopt US-style intellectual property rules.    The civil society declaration links these global trade practices with poverty since they ensure a massive transfer of wealth from developing countries to a small handful of western corporations.

Civil society argues that international trade agreements should treat culture, including audio-visual content, not simply as a commodity, but should promote cultural, linguistic and media diversity.  “Existing international copyright regulation instruments including TRIPS and WIPO should be reviewed to ensure that they promote cultural, linguistic and media diversity and contribute to the development of human knowledge.” [Para. 2.3.1.3].  The declaration calls for the establishment of an International Convention on Cultural Diversity to result in a binding treaty.

IV.    Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks Defeat Original Purpose

The civil society declaration calls for a re-evaluation of the current status of intellectual property rights.  These intellectual monopolies are only supposed to be granted for the benefit of society and to encourage creativity and innovation.  Civil society calls for holding up existing intellectual property rights to this standard to ask if they fulfill their purpose.

“Today, the vast majority of humankind has no access to the public domain of global knowledge, a situation that is contributing to the growth of inequality and exploitation of the poorest peoples and communities.  Yet instead of extending and strengthening the global domain, recent developments are restricting information more and more to private hands.  Patents are being extended to software (and even to ideas), with the consequent effect of limiting innovation and reinforcing monopolies.  Drugs that could save millions of lives are denied to disease sufferers because pharmaceutical companies that hold the patents resist making them available to those countries that cannot pay high prices.  Copyright periods have been extended again and again, making them practically indefinite and defeating their original purpose.” [Para. 2.3.3.2]

Civil society regards current intellectual property laws as “global barriers to knowledge and education” and advocates, “promoting a new balance of intellectual properties.” [Para. 2.4.5]  The declaration “sees the need for alternative models for the production and exchange of knowledge and information.”

V.    Public Domain of Global Knowledge Restricted

Civil society recognized that a rich public domain of knowledge available to all is essential to sustainable information societies, to bridge the digital divide, and to encourage intellectual creativity and technological innovation.

But civil society warned that “the increasing privatization of knowledge production threatens to restrict the availability of research results.  Attempts have been made to commercially exploit traditional indigenous knowledge without consulting the communities, who are the owners of that knowledge.”

The declaration asserts that existing intellectual property regimes are insufficient for the protection of indigenous people’s cultural and intellectual property rights and that traditional knowledge should be protected from any attempt at patenting.

Civil society asserted that the defense and extension of the public domain of global knowledge are as essential for an information society, as the diversity of our natural environment.

VI.    Promotion of Free Software as Development Tool

Civil society advocated for the promotion of Free Software “for its unique social, educational, scientific, political and economic benefits and opportunities.”  Free Software is free to use for any purpose, study, modification, or redistribution.  “Its special advantages for developing countries, such as low cost, empowerment and the stimulation of sustainable local and regional economies, easier adaptation to local cultures and creation of local language versions, greater security, capacity building, etc, need to be recognized, publicized and taken advantage of.”  [Para. 2.3.3.3]

Civil society argued that individuals must have the right to use Free Software because it is affordable and allows people to participate in its development and maintenance.  Governments should promote the use of Free Software in schools and higher education and in public administration.  It linked the fundamental right to education to Free Software, which allows the unfettered ability to study, change, copy, distribute, and run the programs.

The civil society declaration asks the UN to carry out a fundamental review on poverty and human rights of current arrangements for recognition and governance of monopolized knowledge and information, including the work of WIPO and the functioning of the TRIPS agreement.

Unfortunately, the civil society declaration fails to recognize the societal value of open source software development, and only mentions promoting Free Software development.  Both Free and Open Source Software development models are important to a robust array of alternative software models.

VII.    Internet Governance Transferred to International Entity

On the controversial issue of who should govern the Internet, civil society stated, “authority over inherently global resources like the root servers should be transferred to a global, multistakeholder entity.”

According to the declaration, “only a truly open, multistakeholder, and flexible approach can ensure the Internet’s continued growth and transition into a multilingual medium.”    Civil society argued that it is not acceptable for global governance frameworks to be “designed by and for small groups of powerful governments and companies and then exported to the world as fait accomplis.”

Civil society claimed that decision-making processes must be based on values such as inclusive participation, transparency, and democratic accountability.  Global governance frameworks must promote a more equitable distribution of benefits across nations and social groups and strike a better balance between commercial considerations and other legitimate social objectives.