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.
13 May, 2008: Statement at IGF Open Consultation of IGF Dynamic Coalition for Access to Knowledge and Free Expression (A2K@IGF) "IPR protection has always been given to creators and inventors in exchange for some benefit to the public. These are usually included in IP law as exceptions and limitations that can provide a benefit to the public. For example, when copyright owners permit the copying of their materials for private and educational use, they contribute to the general ...
13 May, 2008: A2K@IGF Statement at IGF Open Consultation (Audio) Statement at the IGF Open Consultation from the IGF Dynamic Coalition for Access to Knowledge and Free Expression (A2K@IGF) (Audio file - .mp3)
30 Apr, 2008: “The Problem with the Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty (and What To Do About It)” by Aaron Shaw (KEI Studies) In mid-February 2008, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued a request for public comments on the proposed “Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement” (ACTA). However, with the exception of a handful of press releases, information about the proposal itself remains scarce. Mainstream media outlets have printed USTR officials' talking points about the importance of winning “the fight against fakes,” ...
25 Mar, 2008: IP Justice White Paper on the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) In 2007 a select handful of the wealthiest countries began a treaty-making process to create a new global standard for intellectual property rights enforcement, the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA is spearheaded by the United States, the European Commission, Japan, and Switzerland -- those countries with the largest intellectual property industries. Other countries invited to participate in ...
21 Mar, 2008: ACTA’s Misguided Effort to Increase Govt Spying and Ratchet-Up IPR Enforcement at Public Expense IP Justice Comments to the U.S.T.R. on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). IP Justice firmly believes that ACTA’s costs to the public far outweigh any public benefit it might provide. The financial expense to tax-payers to fund ACTA would be enormous and steal scarce resources away from programs that deal with genuine public needs like providing education ...
20 Mar, 2008: Comments of Knowledge Ecology International on the Proposal for ACTA The Lack of Transparency is Not Encouraging. The Request for Comment in the February 15, 2008 Federal Register (Volume 73, Number 32), contains very little information about the proposal. The "Fact Sheet" on the USTR website has very little real
information. We have, in fact, located an undated "Discussion Paper on a Possible Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement," that has ...
18 Mar, 2008: Public-Interest Principles for the Networked Communications Environment Why is Free Expression Important in an Information Society? The UK-based "Freedom of Expression Project" posted "Public Interest Principles for the Networked Communications Environment". The draft document provides useful analysis on the importance of freedom of expression, open standards, interoperability, respect for privacy, and balanced copyright law as key policy goals for a healthy and robust information society. ...
15 Mar, 2008: 8-10 Sept. 2008: Yale’s A2K-3 Conference in Geneva (3rd Access to Knowledge Conference) The Information Society Project (ISP) at Yale Law School will host the third Access to Knowledge Conference (A2K3) September 8-10, 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland. It will be held at the Geneva International Conference Centre and will bring together hundreds of decision-makers and experts on global knowledge to discuss the urgent need for policy reforms.
