intellectual property

Dear friends,

The Intellectual Property Office-Philippines has been very active in their push towards a culture of "intellectual property" (IP), spreading their advocacy of IP and of culture and the arts as important IP assets of the nation. The IPO-Philippines' National IP Policy Strategy on "Copyright and Other Creative Industries" also highlighted Intellectual Property Rights violations as high on the list of concerns of IP stakeholders.

I would like to invite everyone in the creative sectors to reflect on the advocacy of the IPO-Philippines and such groups as the Intellectual Property Coalition, and examine carefully what they put forth as largely unexamined assumptions about "intellectual property." These assumptions are: (1) the system of IP is "good" in the social, economic and juridical sense; (2) the system of IP is the only and best way forward in stimulating creativity and providing economic incentives to artists; and (3) the system has worked well and continues to work well through history and all over the world, and must therefore be enforced in places where the system is not in full implementation.

Some Personal Observations Regarding the CopySouth Workshop: Trivandrum, Kerala, December 2008
(first draft)

An Important Note for the Reader:

Please note: This is not an objective report of the presentations within the workshop. It is a highly subjective collection of notes and thoughts based on the issues raised by various speakers. My personal notes have been edited and restructured (even extended with my own viewpoints) afterwards. This text is therefore purely a reflection of my own interests and obsessions as manifest through, and by, the CopySouth workshop. However, hopefully, it may also be of interest and use to others.

This text is an edited and more organized version of the brief 5-minute "kick-off" presentation that I made for the session on "Cultural Industries" at the CopySouth Workshop in Kerala, India. As a kick-off presentation, this text was intended to launch debates and discussion around the topic of copyright and creativity. Two other presenters were Shishir J. Kha (India) and Tatiana Carsen (Argentina).

Thanks to all the CopySouth members for the dialogues and the opportunity to sharpen the arguments set forth in this text, especially to Rustom Bharucha, Lawrence Liang, Carolina Botero, and CopySouth observers Trevor Batten and Gargi Sen. I look forward to continuing the dialogues.

WIPO: Teaching IPR Myths
by Fatima Lasay
July 2008

In an article by Catherine Saez on Intellectual Property Watch WTO/WIPO Colloquium Aimed At IP Teachers, teachers of intellectual property from developing countries have been invited to attend a two-week colloquium jointly organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 30 June to 10 July.

I wonder if the WTO/WIPO Colloquium will also attempt to dispel the myths of Intellectual Property Rights, or will these myths continue to be taught as doctrinal truths to university professors of law, management and economy from developing countries?

Outside the IPR discourse - a way forward
June 28, 2008

I have been thinking of Munir's post on asia-commons about my letter to the artist regarding IPR enforcement. The comments on the Copy South website also show that many are asking and looking for "a way forward."

Such a "way forward" is difficult because many of us are captive audiences in a global stage show of the IPR discourse where many governments are subservient to richest countries in the world and majority holders of IP capital.

Replies to "Aesthetic" by Adrian Cristobal Jr, Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/09182008/opinion03.html

Reply from Trevor Batten

Of course Cristobal's write-up raises many interesting issues -including the nature of property, design, aesthetics and perhaps even the foolishness of politicians.

Dear friend in the arts,

You might be mildly aware that there is an ongoing campaign towards the strengthening of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement in the Philippines as the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced plans in April 2008 to pursue more aggressive IP protection schemes with its trading partners around the world.