SELECTED
ON-LINE
RESOURCES
The following contains links to research centres,
Internet-related documentation and individual researchers
contributing the general topic area. It contains only a very
limited selection of links to United Nations websites. This
is an evolving list, so please check back for updates.
ITU Paper, "Intellectual
Capital in the Information Society ",
2003
Media and Telecommunications Policy and Legislation
(University of California at Berkeley, USA)
A selective list of links to online resources - some of
the entries are annotated. The list is grouped into four
themes: Copyright and Intellectual Property Information;
Telecommunications Policy; Censorship; Media Literacy.
Right to Communicate
Online collection of known literature about the Right to
Communicate. This is an in-progress and evolving website
which combines substantive commentary on information society
perspective; and a very selective list of links to relevant
websites.
The site intends to continual evolving across three
distinct phases: Phase 1. Collect, organize and maintain on
the web the known literature on the right to communicate;
Phase 2. Generate new activities on the right to communicate
in basic research, education programs and policy studies;
Phase 3. Implement the right to communicate in a variety of
ways across the global society.
AlterNet.org
AlterNet.org is a project of the Independent Media
Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
strengthening and supporting independent and alternative
journalism.
<<NetAction>>
A site supporting and informing online activism.
Resources are divided into two main categories: Cyber Rights
Tools and Cyber Action Issues, with substantive articles and
resources in both.
In particular, see "Information Wants to be
Valuable" which considers the (non) development of the
Internet under a proprietary model
Commission on Intellectual Property Rights
(CIPR) -
Integrating Intellectual Property Rights and Development
Policy
The Commission was set up by the British government to
look at how intellectual property rights might work better
for poor people and developing countries. The first
Commission meeting was in London on the 8th-9th May 2001,
and the final report was published on 12th September 2002.
Although the Commission disbanded on completion of its
report, this website is intended as a means of explaining
the work of the Commission and providing access to the final
report and supporting documents, which can all be downloaded
from this site.
A review of the Commission's report can be found at The
Economist website: "Patently problematic: An important
new study shows the promise, and pitfalls, of
intellectual-property rights for the poor" Sep 12th
2002 - from The Economist print edition
See also: "Imitation v inspiration: How poor
countries can avoid the wrongs of intellectual-property
rights" Sep 12th 2002 - from The Economist print
edition
The Development Gateway
The Development Gateway is a portal containing a large number of
submitted pages which deal with relevant issues, e.g. The
Development Gateway - Knowledge Economy . See
also links and resources about IPRs on the Gateway -
Intellectual
Property Rights
Duke Law and Technology Review
. See also Intellectual
Property Rights @ Duke Law School
An online journal devoted to IPR issues. Short articles
are available online, and the site provides abstracts of
available articles.
The website of Professor James
Boyle, Duke Law School, and founder and
board member of Creative Commons (see below) - a site packed
with information resources and
links.
Creative Commons
Alternative licencing site for people wanting to release
their work into the public domain. Creative Commons attempts
to deal with the US default of all creative work being
copyrighted, regardless of the creators intentions or
preference in subsequent access or use of their work.
OpenContent
OpenContent works to "facilitate the prolific
creation of freely available, high-quality, well-maintained
Content." This Content can then be used in an infinity
of ways, restricted only by the imagination of the user. The
site makes available licences to release work into the
public domain.
Similar initiatives for software include the OSI and FSF
(see below)
Open
Source Initiative (OSI)
Free
Software Foundation (FSF)
Digital Future Coalition
(USA)
Committed to striking an appropriate balance in law and
public policy between protecting intellectual property and
affording public access to it.
Public Knowledge
Public Knowledge is a public-interest advocacy
organization dedicated to fortifying and defending a vibrant
"information commons" - the shared information
resources and cultural assets that we own as a people. This
Washington, D.C. based group speaks in a single voice for a
wide spectrum of stakeholders - libraries, educators,
scientists, artists, musicians, journalists, consumers,
software programmers, civic groups and enlightened
businesses. Despite varying concerns in their respective
fields, the constituency leaders who comprise Public
Knowledge are united in a core conviction, that some
fundamental democratic principles and cultural values -
openness, public access, and the capacity to create and
compete - must be given new embodiment in the digital age.
Center for the Public Domain
A nonprofit foundation that supports the growth of a
healthy and robust public domain by establishing programs,
grants and partnerships in the areas of academic research,
medicine, law, education, media, technology, and the arts.
Information found under the Resources tab is particularly
helpful and detailed, including Recent News which provides
and extensive and up-to-date list of recent IPR news links.
Further, the list of Supporting Organisations at this site
provides a useful annotated list of relevant sites.
Electronic Privacy Information Center
(EPIC)- Cryptography site and EPIC's
Digital Rights Management and Privacy Site
EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington,
D.C. It was established in 1994 to focus public attention on
emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the
First Amendment, and constitutional values. Its stie provides links to information resources and news
items on issues such as cryptography policy.
SciDev.Net
- Intellectual Property
SciDev.Net is a free-access, Internet-based network
devoted to reporting on and discussing those aspects of
modern science and technology that are relevant to
sustainable development and the social and economic needs of
developing countries.
The above link is to a specific collection of articles in
the Intellectual Property dossier.
WIPO - Electronic Commerce and Intellectual Property
Intellectual property both affects and is affected by
electronic commerce in a multitude of ways. The WIPO
(World Intellectual Property Organization) Electronic Commerce and Intellectual Property website
provides information regarding WIPO's program of work and
activities concerning intellectual property and electronic
commerce. The site is maintained in English, French and
Spanish.
See also WIPO's Intellectual Property on the Internet: A Survey of
Issues . The report addresses the
far-reaching impact that digital technologies - the Internet
in particular - have had on intellectual property (IP) and
the international IP system.
WIPO's
Home Page
ibiblio - The Public's Library and Digital Archive
A well-organised portal which provides links to online
library content, open source software, music, media sites
and much more.
The Future of Music Coalition
The Future of Music Coalition is a not-for-profit
collaboration between members of the music, technology,
public policy and intellectual property law communities. The
FMC seeks to educate the media, policymakers, and the public
about music / technology issues, while also bringing
together diverse voices in an effort to come up with
creative solutions to some of the challenges in this space.
The FMC also aims to identify and promote innovative
business models that will help musicians and citizens to
benefit from new technologies.
The Norman Lear Center
Based at the USC Annenberg School for Communication, the
Norman Lear Center is a multidisciplinary research and
public policy center exploring implications of the
convergence of entertainment, commerce, and society. On the
University of Southern California campus, the Lear Center
builds bridges between eleven schools whose faculty study
aspects of entertainment, media, and culture. Beyond campus,
it bridges the gap between the entertainment industry and
academia, and between them and the public. Through
scholarship and research; through its programs of visiting
fellows, conferences, public events, and publications; and
in its attempts to illuminate and repair the world, the Lear
Center works to be at the forefront of discussion and praxis
in the field.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Founded in 1990, the EFF is one of the older internet
organisations and caretakers of freedom of electronic
information issues. The EFF site devotes attention to
activism, and provides a range of useful links and
resources.
In particular, see EFF's "Intellectual Property:
Digital Rights Management (DRM) Systems &
Copy-Protection Schemes" Archive.
Professor
Lawrence Lessig's website (Stanford University,
USA)
Darwin Magazine Interview: Lessig
Darwin online magazine features progressive coverage of
the evolving business world. This particular article
features an interview with Lawrence Lessig on patents and
the internet.
See also article in the New Yorker (The Financial
Page):
"Righting Copywrongs" (2002-01-21 Issue)
The International Intellectual Property Institute
The International Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI)
is a not-for-profit 501(c)(4) corporation located in
Washington, DC. As an international development organization
and think tank, IIPI is dedicated to increasing awareness
and understanding of the use of intellectual property as a
tool for economic growth, particularly in developing
countries. Since 1998 the Institute has been engaged in a
wide range of activities both abroad and within the United
States, including critical research, public education,
policy and training workshops, technical assistance,
institution building and consultative services.
The site contains policy positions and information about
the Center and its activities.
Copyright's Commons
(Harvard University, USA)
"Copyright's Commons is a coalition devoted to
promoting a vibrant public domain. It is a group of
students, teachers, authors, filmmakers, archivists,
publishers, and other members of the public who believe in
widespread access to creative works. They maintain this
website as a forum for discussion of the public
domain."
O P E N L A W: Copyright Extension Value
The site hosts a handy calculator to ascertain the
monetary gain achieved by creators through the 20-year
extension of copyright protection. The calculator shows that
the monetary returns due to copyright extension are actually
quite small.
See Chart: The Growth Rate of the Public Domain
. This chart is a visual representation of an
understanding of the decline of the growth of public
domain as a result of repeated copyright term extensions.
MediaChannel.org
MediaChannel.org is a nonprofit, public interest Web site
dedicated to global media issues. MediaChannel offers news,
reports and commentary from our international network of
media-issues organizations and publications, as well as
original features from contributors and staff.
In particular, see collection of media declarations and
works-in-progress by clicking here
Index on Censorship
For the past 25 years, Index has reported on censorship
issues from all over the world and has added to the debates
on those issues. In addition to the analysis, reportage and
interviews, each Index contains a country by country list of
free speech violations. These lists remain as extensive
today as they were in the early days of Index.
Communication Rights in the Information Society - CRIS
Campaign
Voices 21 - A Global Movement for People's Voices in
Media and Communication in the 21st Century
UNESCO Report
of UNESCO seminar on "Freedom of
expression in the Information Society", Paris,
15-16 November 2002
Article 19
- The global campaign for free expression
Article 19 is founded on the premise that communication
is a human right. Dedicated to advancing the international
recognition of the human right to communicate. Provides a
forum for international recognition of the right and creates
web-based media channels for underrepresented sources of
information. Also, organizes conference, educational and
other programs.
See in particular: "The
Public's Right to Know, Principles on Freedom of
Information Legislation"
Article
19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Text in : Arabic,
Chinese,
Russian,
Spanish,
English,
French
People's Communication Charter
- Text
The text of the current version of the People's
Communication Charter in English, French, Italian, Spanish,
German and Dutch.
Internet Rights Charter (Fourth Draft, April 2001)
World Radio and Television Council
-- Conseil Mondial de
Radio-télevision
A civil society movement promoting and defending public
service broadcasting world-wide (supported by UNESCO.)
Institute for Global Communications
(IGC)
The Mission of IGC is to advance the work of progressive
organizations and individuals for peace, justice, economic
opportunity, human rights, democracy and environmental
sustainability through strategic use of online technologies.
Brettonwoods Project
A website devoted to monitoring and reporting on the
World Bank and IMF activities and policies.
The Privacy Forum
The Privacy Forum, created in 1992 by Lauren Weinstein,
includes a moderated e-mail digest (and archive of those
digests and related documents) for the discussion and
analysis of issues relating to privacy (both personal and
collective) in the information age.
Columbia Journalism Review - Who owns what?
A key site for delving into media ownership facts and
issues.
Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting
(FAIR)
The NGO and Academic ICANN Study
(NAIS)
The NGO and Academic ICANN Study (NAIS) is an
international project to review the nature of public
representation in the Internet's domain name management
organization, ICANN.
See also ICANN
Watch
"Accountability and oversight of the Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
, a December 2002 report to the Markle Foundation by Prof. Tamar Frankel, Boston University
School of Law (USA)
FreespeechTV
FreespeechTV - Free Speech Internet Television is the
first audio/video hub on the web created and defined by the
people who use it.
ACM's
(Association for Computing Machinery) Internet Governance Project
Professor
Milton Mueller's website (Syracuse University,
USA)
Good selection of "online publications" which
address Internet governance history and issues.
The Commission on Global Governance
Website on reforming the UN system.
UNESCO
- World Information and Communication report (1999)
Study
"Louder Voices, Strengthening Developing Country
Participation in International ITC Decision Making"
A study by the Commonwealth Telecommunication
Organisation (CTO) and Panos London. The study was presented to
the DOT-Force meeting at Calgary in May 2002 and to the G8
Summit in Kananaskis in June 2002.
"Global Policymaking for Information and
Communication Technologies: Enabling Meaningful
Participation by Developing-Nation Stakeholders"
(June 2002), by the
Implementation Team on Global Policy Participation, G8
Digital Opportunity Task Force
Making New
Technologies Work for Human Development - UNDP Human Development Report
2001
The Communication Initiative
A well-organised and searchable site which posts a range
of information and resources dedicated to information and
development initiatives.
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