There is a growing feeling that more can be done to use technology - particularly the Internet - to provide greater access to knowledge. Coalitions of groups including librarians, civil liberties groups, health care givers, consumer groups, free and open source software groups, creative commoners, and other diverse interests are working together to increase awareness of the growing Access to Knowledge (A2K) campaign.
The A2K@IGF Dynamic Coalition is concerned about the impact of unbalanced intellectual property rights on access to knowledge and freedom of expression. A2K@IGF is a loosely-based and open coalition that grew out the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) workshop in Athens.
Workshop at the 2007 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil sponsored by the A2K@IGF Dynamic Coalition.
Yale Information Society ProjectA2K3 Conference (8-10 Sept. 2008) in Geneva this year.
Yale Information Society ProjectA2K2 Conference (27-29 April 2007) and accompanying A2K2 wiki with presentations and more information. See slides from IP Justice Executive Director Robin Gross on "The Law of Search Engines" panel at Yale Law School.
Yale Information Society ProjectA2K Conference (21-23 April 2006) and accompanying A2K wiki with presentations and more information. See slides from IP Justice Executive Director Robin Gross on "DRM and Globalization" panel at Yale Law School.
In August 2004, Argentina and Brazil proposed WIPO create a "Development Agenda" that included a proposal for a treaty on access to knowledge and technology. In 2005 a number of NGOs, academic experts, scientists, businesses and governments discussed features of such a treaty, and the 14 member Group of the Friends of Development (FoD) asked WIPO to consider possible elements of an A2K Treaty. Its objective is to “protect and enhance access to knowledge, and to facilitate the transfer of technology to developing countries.” In July 2005 over 138 public-interest NGO’s from all over the world signed a joint statement supporting the Group of Friends of Development proposal for a "Development Agenda" at WIPO. For more information, see IP Justice’s "Development Agenda" pages.
3 Nov, 2008: Canadian Govt. Keeps ACTA Consultation Results Under Wraps The documents confirm that two countries - the United States and Japan - have emerged as the primary supporters and drafters of the treaty. Countries have met three times in recent months to discuss elements of the treaty with those two countries providing draft treaty language to the other participants just prior to the formal meeting. For example, in ...
28 Oct, 2008: Open Letter to World Customs Organization Concerning Increased Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights We the undersigned public interest groups and individuals are writing to raise our concerns about recent developments in the World Customs Organisation, in particular the setting of intellectual property enforcement standards that go beyond the TRIPS agreement (TRIPS plus) in the SECURE Working Group, the lack of dialogue with, and involvement of public interest organisations in the standard setting process ...
9 Sep, 2008: Access to Knowledge Conference Begins Addressing New Challenges with New Ideas (IP-Watch) A key conference on access to knowledge opened Monday, with veterans of the A2K movement mixed with many new faces and all participants hoping to find new ideas over the next few days, as they seek to clarify the best paths forward. “The great insight of this movement,” said Yale Law School Information Society Project Director Jack Balkin during ...
14 Jul, 2008: WIPO Development Agenda committee deliberations on norm-setting, open source and creative commons (KEI) "The WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) had rich discussions on Thursday afternoon (July 10, 2008) on norm-setting, open source and creative commons as they related to recommendations 22 and 23 of the Development Agenda. Recommendation 22 states: WIPO’s norm-setting activities should be supportive of the development goals agreed within the UN system, including those contained ...
14 Jul, 2008: WIPO Enriched by In-Depth Discussion of Public Domain (KEI) "With respect to the public domain, Richard Owens (WIPO Secretariat) noted that there is a fundamental question of definition that frames the policy debate on this issue. The classical definition of the public domain (in the copyright context) is “what is not protected by copyright, i.e. rights that have expired, works that have not been deemed worthy of protection, and ...
12 Jul, 2008: WIPO Development Committee Ends First Year On Mostly Agreeable Note (IP-Watch) "While the 7 to 11 July meeting of the Committee on Development and IP (CDIP) did not make any profound changes in the operations of WIPO yet, discussions revealed some of the areas where change may be coming. And while there were moments of tension, the overall spirit of the meeting appeared more agreeable than meetings of the past years. ...
9 Jul, 2008: EFF Statement at WIPO Development Agenda Meeting in Geneva "We support the call for WIPO to initiate discussions on how to facilitate access to knowledge and technology for developing countries and LDCs to foster creativity and innovation, and to facilitate IP-related aspects of ICT for growth and economic, social
and cultural development. It is essential that national and international copyright and patent laws provide an environment that is ...
9 Jul, 2008: G8 Declaration on the World Economy Read Text of GB Declaration on a World Economy and G8's Pledge to Increase Intellectual Property Rights and International Enforcement and to Deputize Customs Agents to Search and Seize Laptops, iPods, and PDA's of Unsuspected Citizens in Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
