More on the Access to Knowledge (a2k) Treaty

William New, Experts Debate Access to Knowledge, Intellectual Property Watch, February 15, 2005. Excerpt: 'Intellectual property experts from a wide range of backgrounds are finding common ground in informal proposals to ensure the right of individuals to access knowledge, including possibly through a negotiated treaty at the U.N. The issue has come of age in the digital era, as intellectual property owners have sought to protect their rights in an era when the Internet has opened new pathways to knowledge....The informal proposals were the subject of a Feb. 3-4 meeting in Geneva entitled, "The WIPO Development Agenda and a Treaty on Access to Knowledge." At the meeting, 60 academics, researchers, public interest groups and diplomats presented and discussed more than two dozen proposals on aspects of such a treaty, organizers said. The off-the-record meeting was organized by the Consumer Project on Technology (CPTech), the International Federation of Library Associations and the Third World Network....CP Tech director James Love said afterward that there appears to be non-governmental support for elements of an access to knowledge treaty. Support gelled around limitations and exceptions to patents, copyrights and other intellectual property laws; mechanisms to address abuses of rights, such as the control of anti-competitive practices; and opportunities to support new modes of production of knowledge goods, such as free and open source software, open access research archives, or public domain scientific databases, he said. "Some proposals were new, such as the patent and procurement mechanisms to protect open standards," Love said. "Others, like those concerning open access archives for publicly funded research, are already part of the policy landscape in some countries, including the US, but are not part of any multilateral instrument to promote access to knowledge." He added, "This was a very good start, but there is much work ahead." ' (PS: Here's my contribution to the drafting discussion.)