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by Ben Bas — last modified Sep 05, 2014 10:12 AM

Envisioning the Role of Open Knowledge in the Implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 — by Ashwini Lele — last modified Aug 27, 2024 02:53 PM: The National Education Policy 2020 brings a significant change in India's educational landscape, representing a comprehensive overhaul to address the evolving developmental imperatives of the country.
Commemorating Chandan Chiring (1990-2024) — by Nayan Jyoti Nath and Ajay Das — last modified May 07, 2024 11:51 PM: With a heavy heart, I am deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Chandan Chiring Phukan at 11:30 pm on Saturday, April 27th. Chandan Chiring was born on November 14, 1990, in Titabor, Jorhat district of Assam.
Open Movement in India (2013-23): The Idea and Its Expressions — by Soni Wadhwa — last modified Feb 13, 2024 02:57 AM: This report identifies some broad patterns that have materialized in the Open Movement in the country in the last decade. The report is based on a reading of the available literature on selected projects and conversations with academicians and advocates of the Open. The rough outline of the Open initiatives is accompanied by reflections on the nature of the Open here and the need to envision it differently from what it currently is.
Using the Wikimedia sphere for the revitalization of small and underrepresented languages in India — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Feb 10, 2024 04:35 AM: This report explores opportunities within the Wikimedia movement and projects to help revitalise small and underrepresented languages in India and provide recommendations to CIS’s Access to Knowledge team in furthering this effort. The report is mainly based on a roundtable conversation on Digital Access in Bhubaneswar with a diverse range of backgrounds and professions, including independent researchers, representatives from non-profit organizations, retired government officials, Wikimedia contributors (both Odia and Santali), ecological activists, directors of research institutes, consultants, and journalists. This was organized by the Access to Knowledge team of CIS in collaboration with Vasundhara, Bhubaneswar.
Commemorating Ulo Senthamizh Kodai (1945 - 2024): A Luminary of Tamil Open Knowledge Movement — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Feb 08, 2024 02:59 PM: பயன்தூக்கார் செய்த உதவி நயன்தூக்கின் நன்மை கடலின் பெரிது. (௱௩ - 103) திருவள்ளுவர் (Payandhookkaar Seydha Udhavi Nayandhookkin Nanmai Katalin Peridhu (Transliteration). The contribution made without weighing the return, When weighed, outweighs the sea. - Thiruvalluvar
WIPO SCCR 43: Notes from Day 3 — by Shweta Mohandas — last modified Apr 28, 2023 01:03 PM
WIPO SCCR 43: Notes from Day 1 — by Shweta Mohandas — last modified Apr 28, 2023 12:01 PM: Member states delivered opening statements and deliberated on the progress, substantive provisions, and method of work on the draft broadcasting treaty text. This blog post summarises positions and contentions that supported: 1)The need for balance between rights of broadcasters and that of users and researchers 2) Questions around fixation and signal piracy 3) Need for consensus and towards a diplomatic conference
WIPO SCCR 43: Notes from Day 2 — by Shweta Mohandas — last modified Apr 28, 2023 12:22 PM
CIS Statement in WIPO SCCR 43 — by Shweta Mohandas and Anubha Sinha — last modified Mar 28, 2023 02:12 PM: Shweta Mohandas delivered a statement on behalf of CIS, on day 1 of the 43rd WIPO SCCR session on the Broadcast Treaty.
Exploring Knowledge Repositories on Water Resources in India — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Oct 21, 2022 01:23 PM: This research study explores knowledge repositories on water resources in India, with a focus on how the digital transition has impacted the process of creation & access to these resources and possible collaborations to build open digital repositories around water. The research was undertaken by Subodh Kulkarni, with editorial inputs by Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Chiara Furtado. This is part of a series of short-term studies undertaken by the CIS-A2K team in 2021–2022.
Infrastructural Needs of Indian Language Wikisource Projects — by Puthiya Purayil Sneha — last modified Oct 21, 2022 01:21 PM: This is a short study on identifying the infrastructural gaps on Indian language Wikisource projects, and potential strategies to address the same. The study was undertaken by Jayantha Nath, Puthiya Purayil Sneha and Satdeep Gill, with writing and editorial oversight by Puthiya Purayil Sneha and an external review by Divyank Katira. This is part of a series of short-term studies undertaken by the CIS-A2K team in 2021-22.
Mapping Content on Gender and Sexuality in Indian Languages — by Yashashwini Srinivas — last modified Oct 21, 2022 01:03 PM: This research study explores content production processes on gender and sexuality in Indian languages, its digital documentation and factors that affect its availability and use on open access platforms. The research was undertaken by Yashashwini Srinivas, with editorial inputs by Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Torsha Sarkar. This research was part of short-term studies undertaken at the CIS-A2K programme 2021-22.
Digitisation of O Bharat, a bilingual biweekly published in Goa from 1912 to 1949 — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Oct 11, 2022 02:53 PM: The digitization project of O Bharat, a historic biweekly published between 1912 to 1949 in Goa was completed through collaboration of different organizations. The trustees of Bharatkar Hegde Desai Trust initiated the project in collaboration with Marathi department of Goa University, Bhakti Dnyan Marg Sanstha and Goa Central Library. The Centre for Internet and Society's Access to Knowledge Programme facilitated the project with technical and financial assistance. Two local students scanned 12000 pages in 8 days. The year wise volumes of O Bharat are now freely available on Wikimedia Commons in the form of archive.
Digitisation of O Bharat, a bilingual biweekly published in Goa from 1912 to 1949 — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Oct 11, 2022 01:11 PM: It all started like this. During the Wikimedia session at Goa University in October 2021, it was realised that there is very little documentation about the ‘Goa Liberation Struggle’ on Wikimedia projects. So, in the meeting Prof. Vinay Madgaonkar from the Marathi language department took the lead to develop a project around this theme.
WIPO SCCR 42: Statement by CIS on the Limitations and Exceptions Agenda Item — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 12, 2022 08:41 AM: Anubha Sinha delivered a statement on behalf of CIS, on day 3 of the 42nd WIPO SCCR session on the Limitations and Exceptions Agenda Item.
WIPO SCCR 42: Statement by CIS on the Protection of Broadcasting Organisations Agenda Item — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 10, 2022 02:38 PM: Anubha Sinha delivered a statement on behalf of CIS, on day 2 of the 42nd WIPO SCCR session on the Protection of Broadcasting Organisations Agenda Item.
Wikimedia Wikimeet India 2021/Report — by Nitesh Gill and Tito Dutta — last modified Aug 20, 2021 02:01 PM: In March 2020, the whole world came to a standstill. What many deemed as a regular ‘flu’ turned out to be the pandemic that brought everyone to their knees. The things that we always did, we could no longer do them. We were all confined to our homes with no choice but to work online. Hanging out with friends, attending weddings, and being a part of the conferences and seminars suddenly became a part of the past. We started using the word unprecedented a lot.
Standing Committee's recommendations are at odds with Access to Knowledge — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jul 28, 2021 09:31 AM: The Indian Parliamentary Committee's report weighs on several aspects of the Indian IPR system and issues of protection and enforcement. This blog post summarily notes the observations and recommendations of the Committee on the Copyright Act, 1957 which stand to impact access to knowledge. The primary issue dealt with was the claim that copyright exceptions were affecting the publishing industry and authors. The recommendations include narrowing of copyright exceptions, barring digital storage and copying, promotion of libraries, and adopting the Berne Convention as the benchmark on limitations and exceptions.
WIPO SCCR 41: Notes from Day 3 and Day 4 — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jul 08, 2021 02:51 PM: Day 3 and 4 saw the presentation of four studies conducted by external experts on music markets in various regions in the world and one study on rights of stage directors of theatrical productions. Day 4 saw member states sharing their positions on a proposal for creation of two rights 1) rights of stage directors of stage productions and 2) public lending right. The Chair also presented the draft summary of the session upon its conclusion, on Day 4. This blog post shares the specific text under the broadcasting and limitations and exceptions agenda items, relevant from an access to knowledge perspective.
WIPO SCCR 41: Notes from Day 2 — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jul 08, 2021 02:55 PM: Member states delivered opening statements and deliberated on the scope, direction, and progress of work on the limitations and exceptions agenda. This blog post summarises positions and contentions around: 1) Information Session on impact COVID 2) Creating a binding limitations and exceptions international instrument 3) Work Plan under the L&E agenda 4) Conducting regional consultations as per the report on regional seminars and international conference on limitations and exceptions.
WIPO SCCR 41: Statement by CIS on Limitations and Exceptions Agenda Item — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jun 29, 2021 01:20 PM: Anubha Sinha delivered a statement on behalf of CIS, on day 2 of the 41st WIPO SCCR session, on the limitations and exceptions agenda item.
A Comparative Study of Article Creation Campaigns on Wikipedia - Part II — by Puthiya Purayil Sneha — last modified Jun 11, 2021 10:54 AM: This is a short report on a comparative analysis of two prominent Wikimedia initiatives, Wikipedia Asian Month and Project Tiger, to understand prevailing challenges and opportunities, and strategies to address the same. The report has been authored by Nitesh Gill with inputs from Suswetha Kolluru, and editorial oversight and support by Puthiya Purayil Sneha. This is part of a series of short-term studies undertaken by the CIS-A2K team in 2019–2020.
Update on Publisher’s Copyright Infringement Suit Against Sci-Hub and LibGen in India — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Apr 28, 2021 05:28 PM: Anubha Sinha provides a summary of the progress of the copyright infringement suit against Sci-Hub and LibGen in India. This article was first published in InfoJustice on March 8, 2021.
The STI Policy Proposes a Transformative Open Access Approach for India — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Apr 28, 2021 05:22 PM: Anubha Sinha explains what the draft national Science, Technology and Innovation policy means for open access to scientific literature for Indians. This article was first published in The Wire Science on January 21, 2021.
Wikipedia in the Classroom: A Study of the Wikimedia in Education at CHRIST (Deemed to be University) — by Ananth Subray — last modified May 15, 2021 12:33 PM: This is a short study on the Wikimedia in Education (WIE) at Christ University, Bengaluru, which aims to offer an overview of the key objectives and challenges of this project and map its impact on teaching-learning practices in multilingual classrooms. The report has been authored by Ananth Subray, with editorial oversight and support by Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and external review by Sumandro Chattapadhyay. This is part of a series of short-term studies undertaken by the CIS-A2K team in 2019–2020.
Content Creation on Eastern Punjabi Wikipedia — by Satpal Singh — last modified May 15, 2021 12:24 PM: This is a short study on the nature of content creation related to Punjab on Eastern Punjabi Wikipedia, its challenges and opportunities, and observations and potential strategies to address the same. The report has been authored by Satpal Singh, with editorial oversight and support by Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and external review by Sumandro Chattapadhyay. This is part of a series of short-term studies undertaken by the CIS-A2K team in 2019–2020.
A Comparative Study of Article Creation Campaigns on Wikipedia - Part I — by Nitesh Gill and Suswetha Kolluru — last modified Jun 11, 2021 10:56 AM: This is a short report on a comparative analysis of two prominent Wikimedia initiatives, Wikipedia Asian Month and Project Tiger, to understand prevailing challenges and opportunities, and strategies to address the same. The report has been authored by Nitesh Gill with inputs from Suswetha Kolluru, and editorial oversight and support by Puthiya Purayil Sneha. This is part of a series of short-term studies undertaken by the CIS-A2K team in 2019–2020.
Research Studies on Indian Language Wikimedia Projects 2019-21 — by Sneha PP — last modified Oct 21, 2022 12:59 PM: This is a compilation of the final reports from a series of short-term studies undertaken by the CIS-A2K team in 2019-2021, on an array of topics related to Indian language Wikimedia projects. The projects were undertaken by Subodh Kulkarni, Bodhisattwa Mandal, Bhuvana Meenakshi Koteeswaran, Ananth Subray, Satpal Dandiwal and Nitesh Gill, with research oversight and editorial support by Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and internal review by Sumandro Chattapadhyay and Ambika Tandon.
Research Publishing: Is ‘One Nation, One Subscription’ Pragmatic Reform for India? — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Apr 28, 2021 05:09 PM: Anubha Sinha examines the feasibility of the proposed 'One Nation, One Subscription' approach in the draft national Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (2020) on access to scientific literature. This article was first published in The Wire Science on October 23, 2020.
Bridging the Gender Gap: A Report on Indian Language Wikimedia Communities — by Bhuvana Meenakshi — last modified May 15, 2021 12:26 PM: This research study documents the gender gap and bias in Indian language Wikimedia projects and communities, with a focus on participation by and content related to women contributors across diverse Wikimedia platforms. The research was undertaken by Bhuvana Meenakshi Koteeswaran, with editorial oversight and support by Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and additional inputs from Ambika Tandon and Sumandro Chattapadhyay.
WIPO SCCR 41: Notes from Day 1 — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jun 29, 2021 01:40 PM: Member states delivered opening statements and deliberated on the progress, substantive provisions, and method of work on the draft broadcasting treaty text. This blog post summarises positions and contentions that supported: 1) transparency in SCCR work 2) limitations and exceptions 3) addressing the object of protection and overbroad scope of rights in the draft treaty text.
Global Civil Society Coalition launches website to promote Access to Knowledge — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Oct 12, 2022 12:05 PM
Wiki Women for Women Well-Being: An Initiative to Bridge the Gender Gap in the Wikimedia Community — by Nitesh Gill and Shruti Anandan — last modified Dec 28, 2020 02:58 PM: WWWW is a project which focused on bridging the female related content gap on Indic Wikimedia communities. The idea of WWWW was given by Dr. Manavpreet Kaur, who worked with other women leaders from different communities and made a plan to engage with the editors for this project. CIS-A2K has started a series of interviews to introduce women with brilliant ideas and who have done contributions for Wikimedia and this is the first interview under the “Series of Interviews.” This Interview was done by Nitesh Gill.
Understanding the Data Gaps on Wikidata Concerning Heritage Structures of West Bengal — by Bodhisattwa Mandal — last modified May 15, 2021 12:31 PM: This is a short study on identifying the data gaps related to heritage structures in West Bengal on Wikidata, and potential strategies to address the same. The report is authored by Bodhisattwa Mandal, with editorial oversight and support by Puthiya Purayil Sneha and external review by Sumandro Chattapadhyay. This is part of a series of short-term studies undertaken by the CIS-A2K team in 2019-2020.
Mapping GLAM in Maharashtra — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified May 15, 2021 12:30 PM: This is a short study on mapping the digital transition in selected Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) institutions in Maharashtra, India, and exploring possibilities and challenges for collaborations with Wikimedia projects. Research was undertaken by Aaryaa Joshi, Dnyanada Gadre-Phadke, Kalyani Kotkar and Subodh Kulkarni; the report has been authored by Subodh Kulkarni with editorial oversight and support by Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and external review by Sumandro Chattapadhyay. This is part of a series of short-term studies undertaken by the CIS-A2K team in 2019–2020.
Access to Knowledge 2019–2020 Utilisation Certificate — by Tito Dutta — last modified Sep 30, 2020 10:15 PM: Access to Knowledge 2019–2020 WMF APG Utilisation Certificate
Indian Wikimedian Communities and the Gender Gap - A Space of Change, Negotiation, and Growth — by Bhuvana Meenakshi — last modified Mar 09, 2020 12:15 PM: This blog post covers key findings of the Wikipedia Gender Gap research completed by Ting-Yi Chang in April 2018. The paper was titled “Examining Female Editors’ Identity and Agency Negotiation Process within Indian Wikimedia Projects and Communities”. Here Ting-Yi brings us several observations on how the contributions by women editors' impacts Indian Wikimedia. This research focuses on participation of the women in Wikimedia activities with an emphasis on creating safe spaces and encouraging skill development.
Wikiorientation at Dr.GR Damodaran College of Science — by Bhuvana Meenakshi — last modified Jan 18, 2020 08:11 AM: An orientation session on Wikimedia projects was held on 6-7 December 2019 at Dr. GR Damodaran College of Science. This talk was part of the “Hour of Code” event, which is an International event celebrated across the globe to encourage students to develop their knowledge on Computer Science. This event was supported by Open Knowledge movements like Wikimedia, Mozilla, etc.which would help students to share their knowledge in the form of volunteerships and contributions. The highlights of gender gap research and women based projects such as Women in Red were covered as part of a focussed group discussion.
Wikiorientation at Dr.GR Damodaran College of Science — by Bhuvana Meenakshi — last modified Dec 23, 2019 08:18 AM: An orientation session on Wikimedia projects was held on 6-7 December 2019 at Dr. GR Damodaran College of Science. This talk was part of the “Hour of Code” event, which is an International event celebrated across the globe to encourage students to develop their knowledge on Computer Science. This event was supported by Open Knowledge movements like Wikimedia, Mozilla, etc.which would help students to share their knowledge in the form of volunteerships and contributions. The highlights of gender gap research and women based projects such as Women in Red were covered as part of a focussed group discussion.
Project Tiger 2.0 — by Suswetha Kolluru and Nitesh Gill — last modified Nov 24, 2019 09:17 AM: If you think that Indian languages are as important as international languages, like English, then, you are on the same page with this article. If not, then, let me explain, why it is a significant and much bigger issue than you think.
Project Tiger 2.0 — by Suswetha Kolluru and Nitesh Gill — last modified Nov 24, 2019 09:15 AM: If you think that Indian languages are as important as international languages, like English, then, you are on the same page with this article. If not, then, let me explain, why it is a significant and much bigger issue than you think.
Project Tiger 2.0 — by Suswetha Kolluru and Nitesh Gill — last modified Nov 24, 2019 09:13 AM: If you think that Indian languages are as important as international languages, like English, then, you are on the same page with this article. If not, then, let me explain, why it is a significant and much bigger issue than you think.
Project Tiger 2.0 — by Suswetha Kolluru and Nitesh Gill — last modified Nov 24, 2019 09:18 AM: If you think that Indian languages are as important as international languages, like English, then, you are on the same page with this article. If not, then, let me explain, why it is a significant and much bigger issue than you think.
Analysis on the strategies of Mozilla and Wiki communities on gender gap aspects — by Bhuvana Meenakshi — last modified Oct 03, 2019 11:56 AM: There is a need for research on how Open Source communities are trying to balance the gender ratio and how they provide the safe space environment to its contributors. With this in mind I have come up with this blog as I am an active contributor of Mozilla since 5 years and also got myself recently introduced to Wikimedia and its sister projects, have interacted with few Indian women contributors in both of these communities and came out with a few observations on how I see them in India and what could be improved in both communities.
Analysis on the strategies of Mozilla and Wiki communities on gender gap aspects — by Bhuvana Meenakshi — last modified Aug 28, 2019 01:27 PM: There is a need for research on how Open Source communities are trying to balance the gender ratio and how they provide the safe space environment to its contributors. With this in mind I have come up with this blog as I am an active contributor of Mozilla since 5 years and also got myself recently introduced to Wikimedia and its sister projects, have interacted with few Indian women contributors in both of these communities and came out with a few observations on how I see them in India and what could be improved in both communities.
Call for joining the Free Knowledge movement #Wikipedia #Wikimedia — by Bhuvana Meenakshi — last modified Aug 20, 2019 07:15 AM: Every little drop makes a Mighty ocean! Join us in this Free Knowledge movement where your contributions will be used world-wide.
The Knowledge Base is Liberated — by Subodh Kulkarni and Madhav Gadgil — last modified Aug 05, 2019 11:04 PM: The article published in Sunday supplement of Loksatta newspaper of Express group, written jointly by Madhav Gadgil & Subodh Kulkarni summarises - the status of searchable open knowledge available on web, eagerness of youth generation across the social strata to access knowledge on new gadgets and the approaches to build resources in Marathi on web harnessing potential of Wikimedia projects. It also elaborates major three breakthroughs – Free & open source software movement, Unicode revolution and development of collaborative knowledge building and sharing free platforms like Wikimedia projects easily accessible to people in their own languages.
Re-licensing Sessions with Authors and Organisations — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Aug 05, 2019 04:12 PM: In collaboration with Marathi community, CIS-A2K is getting connected with various authors and organisations willing to re-license their content under CC-By-SA. A2K is facilitating the OTRS process Commons for re-licensing as well as digitisation of the content. The team of trained Wikimedians at Vigyan Ashram, Pabal, District Pune has taken the responsibility of digitising the books and further uploads in Wikimedia projects.
Wikimedia Workshop on Rivers under Project Jalbodh — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Aug 05, 2019 03:28 PM: The Indian National Trust for Art & Heritage Pune Chapter is working with various organisations to preserve the natural heritage places like rivers in Pune district of Maharashtra, India. After the presentation of 'Project Jalbodh' by CIS-A2K in River Dialogue organised by INTACH in April 2018, several organisations shown keen interest in collaboration.
Orientation programme, Wikipedia workshop & Action Plan meeting in PAH Solapur University — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Aug 05, 2019 03:21 PM: CIS-A2K representatives visited PAH Solapur University, Solapur (PAHSUS) to finalise the action plan and MoU for the year 2019-20.
Comments on the Draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019 concerning Statutory Licensing — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jul 11, 2019 07:04 AM: The Centre for Internet & Society gave its comments on the proposed rules 29,30,31 of the Draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019. The comments were made in response to Notification G.S.R 393(E) published in the Gazette of India on May 30, 2019.
Joining the Dots in India's Big-Ticket Mobile Phone SEP Litigation — by Rohini Lakshané and Shweta Mohandas — last modified Jul 06, 2019 01:42 AM: Rohini Lakshané and Shweta Mohandas have published their last update to this paper that chronicles mobile device SEP litigation in India. All developments in the lawsuits filed in the Delhi High Court and complaints made to the CCI that were published in reliable sources till 20 September 2018 are mentioned in this paper. The paper was an output under the Pervasive Technologies project.
SVG translation workshop Kannada — by Gopala Krishna — last modified Jun 29, 2019 07:21 AM: The Centre for Internet & Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) organized a SVG translation workshop for Kannada Wiki community on 23-24 February 2019 in Bengaluru. The workshop was a part of SVG Translation Campaign 2019 in India. Total 10 Wikipedians participated in the workshop and contributed to Wikimedia Commons.
Wikimedia Education SAARC Conference 2019 — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Jul 04, 2019 02:48 AM: Christ University in association with the Centre for Internet & Society's Access to Knowledge team (CIS-A2K) organized a conference, from 20 - 22 June 2019, at Christ University, Bengaluru. Forty-nine Wikimedians from four countries (Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India) participated in the event.
Karavali Wikimedians at All India Radio, Mangaluru — by Bharathesha Alasandemajalu — last modified Jun 13, 2019 08:54 AM: This blog is about the experience of visiting All India Radio Mangaluru station as a part of the Karavali Wikimedians outreach program.
What is Wikimedia Education SAARC Conference? — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Jun 22, 2019 09:37 AM: The Wikimedia Education SAARC conference is on 20th June 2019. A conference for Wikimedians, Wikimedia education leaders, educators and researchers engaged with Open Education and free knowledge movement.
MoU between PAH Solapur University & CIS-A2K — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Jun 05, 2019 06:21 AM: CIS-A2K is working in collaboration with PAH Solapur University, Solapur in Maharashtra on Wikimedia projects. The Mass Communication and Journalism departments are involved in content generation on Marathi Wikipedia & Commons.
Should India adopt Plan S to realise Open Access to Public-funded Scientific Research? — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jun 05, 2019 01:19 PM: Timely and affordable access to scientific research remains a problem in this digital day and age. Around three decades ago, the radical response that emerged was making public-funded scientific research “open access”, i.e. publishing it on the Web without any legal, technical or financial barriers to access and use such research. Several Indian public research institutions also adopted open access mandates and built self-archiving digital tools, however, the efforts haven’t yielded much. Most countries including India, continue to struggle with implementing open access. The latest international initiative (created in Europe) to remedy this problem is Plan S. Plan S is has been positioned as a strategy to implement immediate open access to scientific publications from 2021 – which India is considering adopting. This article unpacks the disorderly growth of open access in India, and discusses the gap between the Plan's vision and current Indian scenario in some respects.
Wikisource Workshop at Vigyan Ashram, Pabal — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Jun 23, 2019 03:26 AM: The Centre for Internet & Society's Access to Knowledge team (CIS-A2K) organized a workshop in collaboration with Vigyan Ashram, Pabal on May 25-26, 2019 at Pabal. Total 12 participants attended sessions during this two days workshop. The basic skills in digitisation, uploading on Commons and Wikisource process were imparted in the workshop. Jayanta Nath was the facilitator.
Project Tiger 2019 Coordinator position open — by Gopala Krishna — last modified Jun 10, 2019 03:29 PM: To contribute to support, and coordinate of the work of the Project Tiger, we are looking for a creative, dedicated individual to join the team as a coordinator. Please note that women, especially those from socioeconomically marginalized communities, and women who are returning to work after a hiatus will be given preference.
CIS-A2K Communication Officer position — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 04, 2019 06:45 AM: The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) is seeking applications only from prospective candidates who identify themselves as women, for the position of Programme Officer (Communications, the position is also known as Communication Officer), to support its Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) Programme. The job application is open to women only because we feel that a woman communications person will contribute more towards bridging the gender gap in the Wikimedia movement by emphasising on gender-sensitive communication apart from contributing internally for bringing a gender balance in the team.
Wikidata Advisor (Consultant) position open — by Tito Dutta — last modified May 19, 2019 03:32 PM: The Access to Knowledge team of the Centre for Internet and Society is seeking applications for the position of Wikidata Advisor (consultant), to support its Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) Programme.
Wikipedia assignments workshop for Post Graduate students in PAH Solapur University — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Jun 22, 2019 03:21 AM: On May 3, 2019, Centre for Internet & Society's Access to Knowledge team (CIS-A2K) along with PAH Solapur University conducted a Wikipedia workshop for students from the post-graduate stream in PAH Solapur University. Ten students from Mass Communication department and three faculty members participated in the workshop. Prof. Ravindra Chincholkar and Subodh Kulkarni were the facilitators for the workshop.
Indic Wikisource speak : Shubha — by Jayanta Nath — last modified Apr 25, 2019 03:30 PM: As the texts are in the searchable format, many students and research scholars can make use of Wikisource. As we all know, Samskrit is a treasure trove of knowledge. There are many such books that can be uploaded and utilised by the public. For this, we are putting effort to upload more and more books and make our Wikisource a rich one. -- Shubha, a Samskrit Wiki-librarian share her experience
Indic Wikisource Speak: J. Balaji — by Jayanta Nath — last modified Apr 25, 2019 03:21 PM: To perfectly proofread the content with matching styles it takes a lot of effort. Patience is the key. The formatting methods are in wikisource are different from Wikipedia. So wikipedians are finding it difficult to edit in wikisource without an introduction.The young generation are accessing the internet through Mobile. They don’t use laptops and computers much. Though mobile is good medium for creating multimedia content, they are poor in creating text. It is difficult to proofread wikisource using a mobile phone. The challenge is bringing the next generation proofreaders - Wiki-librarian J. Balaji share his experience.
CIS-A2K proposal to Wikimedia Foundation for 2019-2020 — by Ananth — last modified Apr 15, 2019 08:05 AM: The Centre for Internet & Society's Access to Knowledge team (CIS-A2K) has submitted its proposal form for the year 2019 - 2020 to the Wikimedia Foundation. CIS thanks all community members who gave valuable suggestions and inputs for drafting this proposal.
Indic Wikisource speak: Info-farmer — by Jayanta Nath — last modified Apr 11, 2019 07:19 PM: Indic Wikisource movement needs more simplification of interface and also unification of existing interfaces. Let us develop new tools for wikisource. Give fund to developers like Shrinivasan. Understand the results of OCR4wikisource which is by self funded. - Info-farmer, Tamil Wiki-librarian share his experience and journey to Tamil wikisource.
Indic Wikisource speak : Ajit Kumar Tiwari — by Jayanta Nath — last modified Apr 17, 2019 08:07 PM: "Wikisource is going to be as important as Wikipedia because it addresses the issues of citations and references inherently. I will make it as my key pedagogical tool to educate my students and make them a part of this great movement." - Hindi Wiki-librarian Ajit Kumar Tiwari ( अजीत कुमार तिवारी ) share his experience about Hindi Wikisource which approved by Language committee of Wikimedia Foundation Inc , US for separate domain on February 2019.
Indic Wikisource Speak: Sushant Savla — by Jayanta Nath — last modified Apr 17, 2019 08:09 PM: Future is bright -- Sushant Savla (User:Sushant_savla) from Gujarati Wikisource community, share his experience & journey.
Indic Wikisource Speak: Dr. Gitartha Bordoloi — by Jayanta Nath — last modified Apr 17, 2019 08:10 PM: "People are more aware of Wikipedia than Wikisource." - Gitartha Bordoloi from Assamese Wikisource community, share his experience with CIS-A2K team.
SVG Translation Workshop at KBC North Maharashtra University — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 26, 2019 06:47 AM: The Centre for Internet & Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) wing organized an SVG translation workshop in collaboration with KBC North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon on 14-15 March 2019. The workshop was a part of India level campaign. Total 58 participants attended the workshop and contributed to Commons till 31 March 2019.
Content Donation Sessions with Authors — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 10, 2019 01:28 AM: CIS-A2K has adopted an integrated approach towards knowledge generation in Marathi language. With the involvement of various stakeholders in different programmes, CIS-A2K facilitated a comprehensive workshop for publishers, printers, designers and writers on 7 September 2018.
Wikimedia projects orientation session at Tata Trust's Vikas Anvesh Foundation — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 09, 2019 12:56 AM: Researchers in development sector produce a pool of training material and case studies. However, these do not trickle down to the society and many in the public domain are unaware of the same.
Supporting Indian Language Wikipedias Program/Report — by Gopala Krishna A — last modified May 01, 2019 05:04 AM: CIS-A2K team submitted Project Tiger final report.
Indic Wikisource- The Iceberg. — by Jayanta Nath — last modified Apr 01, 2019 12:18 PM: Indic Wikisource- The Iceberg.
Design and the Open Knowledge Movement — by Saumyaa Naidu — last modified Apr 01, 2019 12:13 PM: With the objective of connecting the open knowledge movement with design, the Access to Knowledge team at the Centre for Internet and Society co-organised the Wikigraphists Bootcamp India 2018 with the Wikimedia Foundation during September 28-30, 2018 in New Delhi. The event was held at the School of Design at Ambedkar University Delhi. As part of the bootcamp, a panel discussion was held in order to bring together design practitioners, educators, open knowledge contributors, and design students to explore how design and open knowledge communities can engage with each other. In this post, Saumyaa Naidu shares the learnings from the panel discussion aimed at exploring the potential collaborations between design and the open knowledge movement.
Comments and Suggestions to the Draft Patent Manual March 2019 — by Achal Prabhala, Feroz Ali, Ramya Sheshadri, Roshan John and Anubha Sinha — last modified Apr 05, 2019 02:15 AM: A coordinated civil society response to the consultation on the Patent Manual. CIS provided comments on patenting of computer related inventions.
Rejuvenating India’s Rivers the Wiki Way — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 01, 2019 01:18 PM: Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS), an organisation working on rejuvenation of rivers in India, has began documentation of rivers on Wiki, especially to draw attention to and mitigate the crisis of toxic deposits facing more than 40 rivers in India. The work was started by Jal Biradari, TBS’s Maharashtra based group, in Sangli district with the help of the Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) team of CIS. Here is the report from the first pilot workshop conducted by CIS-A2K during 22-25 December 2018 at Tarun Bharat Sangh Ashram, in Alwar, Rajasthan.
The city of Bhubaneswar is going Open — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Mar 07, 2019 11:41 AM: Bhubaneswar supporting the concept of Openness movement has joined as one of the ambassadors of the movement in the world by giving citizens the right to access the content online produced by the government and make use of the work.
CIS-A2K Finance Officer: Call for application — by Tito Dutta — last modified Mar 07, 2019 08:46 AM: The Access to Knowledge team of the Centre for Internet and Society is seeking applications for the position of Finance Officer, to support its Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) Programme. The job application is open to women only.
ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಯೋಜನೆ ಸಮಾವೇಶ ಮತ್ತು ತರಬೇತಿಯ ವರದಿ — by Ananth — last modified Mar 07, 2019 02:35 AM: ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆಯು ದಿನದಿಂದ ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ಬಳಕೆಯಿಲ್ಲದೇ ಕುಂದುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಗ್ರಾಮೀಣ ಭಾಗದ ಕನ್ನಡ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮದ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಸರಿಯಾದ ಕನ್ನಡ ಆಕರಗಳು ಸಿಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಇಂತಹ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ, ಕನ್ನಡವನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿ ಬೆಳೆಸುವುದು ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗನ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯ. ಇದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಗಮನದಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡು, ಸಂತ ಅಲೋಶಿಯಸ್ ಕಾಲೇಜಿನ ಆಶ್ರಯದಲ್ಲಿ ದಿನಾಂಕ ೦೯ ಹಾಗೂ ೧೦ ನೇ ಫೆಬ್ರುವರಿ, ೨೦೧೯ ರಂದು ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಯೋಜನೆ ಸಮಾವೇಶ ಮತ್ತು ತರಬೇತಿಯನ್ನು ನಡೆಸಲಾಯಿತು.
Train the Trainer program 2018 — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Mar 06, 2019 08:13 AM: Trainer the Trainer program is an annual three days residential program organised by the Access to Knowledge Program of Centre for Internet and Society. The program identifies the community leaders and brings Wikimedians from and around the SAARC countries to train them and provide mentorship in their work.
Marathi Language Fortnight Workshops 2019 — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Mar 01, 2019 12:39 AM: Maharashtra is a state which is rich in diversity in terms of language and culture seen in its various regions such as Konkan, Marathwada, Western Maharashtra, Northern Maharashtra and Vidarbha. Awareness needs to be created to make Wikimedia movement inclusive and diverse in these geographical regions as well as in their social strata.
Mini MediaWiki Training Theni — by Ananth — last modified Feb 13, 2019 02:34 AM: CIS-A2k is trying to strengthen the MediaWiki movement in India, and over the last six months, the team has collaborated with different Indian Wikimedians and started a project called Indic-TechCom.
Supporting Indian Community 2018: Needs Assessment — by Tito Dutta — last modified Feb 06, 2019 09:46 PM: The Wikimedia Foundation and Google worked in close coordination with the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Wikimedia India chapter (WMIN) and user groups will pilot a program encouraging Wikipedia communities to create locally relevant and high-quality content in Indian languages. Here is the needs-assessment report.
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop & 1lib1ref session at Goa University — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Mar 01, 2019 12:35 AM: Marathi language department of Goa University has initiated the process to document the culture of Goa on Marathi Wikipedia and Commons.
CIS Signs MoU with Odia Virtual Academy — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Dec 20, 2018 12:24 AM: On October 26, 2018, the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Odia Virtual Academy (OVA) to work on drafting an open content policy for the state, to promote use of Wikimedia projects by various user types and to ensure sustainability of Wikimedia projects, and to facilitate development of relevant free and open source software projects. This partnership between OVA and CIS will be carried out from December 2018 to November 2019, and we are sharing an overview of the activities and their objectives in this post.
Views on on the proposed WIPO Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations at side-event organised by Knowledge Ecology International — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Nov 29, 2018 10:48 AM: On November 27, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) organised a side event during deliberations of the 37th Session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), Electronic Information for Libraries (eiFL.net), Corporacion Innovarte, Creative Commons, and Knowledge Ecology International appraised the current text for the proposed WIPO Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations (Revised Consolidated Text on Definitions, Object of Protection, Rights to be Granted and Other Issues, SCCR/36/6). Speakers provided an overview of the treaty, explained the potential risks and problems caused, and proposed solutions to narrow the Treaty’s scope and limit the damage. Below is a transcript of the remarks made by Anubha Sinha who represented CIS at this event.
37th SCCR: CIS Statement on the Agenda on Limitations and Exceptions — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Nov 29, 2018 10:20 AM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 37th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from November 26, 2018 to November 30, 2018, made this statement on the agenda on limitations and exceptions on behalf of CIS on Day 3, November 28.
37th SCCR: CIS Statement on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Nov 29, 2018 10:08 AM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 37th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from November 26, 2018 to November 30, 2018, made this statement on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations on behalf of CIS on Day 1, November 26.
Aditya 365 — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Nov 07, 2018 02:32 AM: Telugu Wikimedian Aditya Pakide successfully completed 365 Wiki Commons Days. Aditya started contributing to project after a Facebook comment by A2K community advocate suggesting that the same picture would get more utilization in Commons and a brief training followed.
History of Wikipedia Education programme at Christ (Deemed to be University) — by Ananth — last modified Oct 29, 2018 02:20 AM: This article gives the insight of Christ Wikipedia Education Program, how students are involved in different capacities in the program and shares the best practices of the Education Program.
Digital Technology Engaging Pedagogy through Hindi Wikipedia - A Case Study — by Dr. George Joseph,Dr. Sebastian K.A, and Kavitha A — last modified Oct 28, 2018 05:56 AM: We have published an article in International Journal of English Language, Literature in Humanities. The article is titled "Digital Technology Engaging Pedagogy through Hindi Wikipedia - A Case Study". The authors of the article are Hindi faculty members of Christ University and Ananth Subray from the Centre for Internet & Society provided research assistance.
South India Copyright Workshop — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Nov 06, 2018 01:25 AM: A workshop on Copyright was organized by CIS-A2K at Hotel Bhagini Icon in Bengaluru from 19th to 21st October 2018. Seventeen members from 5 language communities (Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Tulu) participated in the workshop. Yann Forget was the master trainer for the workshop.
Christ (DU) students enrolls for 3rd Wikipedia certificate course — by Ananth Subray — last modified Sep 23, 2018 04:04 AM: Students of Christ (Deemed to be University) enrolled themselves for the third Wikipedia certificate course for the academic year of 2018-19, to understand the usage of Wikimedia projects.
Wikisource Handbook for Indian Communities — by Bodhisattwa Mandal and Ananth Subray P. V. — last modified Sep 19, 2018 02:18 AM: Wikisource is one of the trending Wikimedia projects. Many new editors and new books to Indic language Wikisource's get added over a period of time. However, new editors as well as existing editors face numerous problems while working with the content online. The Centre for Internet & Society's Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) team, to help the editors, has created this Handbook. CIS invites feedback to the first draft of this Handbook. CIS-A2K will continue to work with the Wikipedia communities to improve their efforts towards developing Wikisource.
మిసిమి పత్రిక గ్రంథాలయంలో తెలుగు వికీపీడియన్ల కార్యక్రమం — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Aug 22, 2018 03:11 PM: తెలుగు నాట లలిత కళలపై రసజ్ఞత పెంపొందించేందుకు దశాబ్దాలుగా పనిచేస్తున్న పత్రికల్లో మిసిమి విశిష్టమైనది.
Workshop of Publishers and Writers on Unicode, Open Source and Wikimedia Projects — by Admin — last modified Aug 11, 2018 02:08 AM: CIS-A2K team organized a workshop on unicode, open source and wikimedia projects at Pune on July 25, 2018.
వాట్సాప్ సాహిత్య వేదిక నుంచి వికీసోర్సుకు — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Jul 31, 2018 11:33 PM: పద్యసౌందర్యం గ్రూపు సభ్యులకు వికీసోర్సు పరిచయం
Workshop of River activists for building Jal Bodh - Knowledge resource on Water — by Admin — last modified Aug 11, 2018 01:45 AM: To build knowledge resource on rivers in Pune district, CIS-A2K team organized a workshop in Pune on July 25, 2018.
ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ:ಸಂಪಾದನೋತ್ಸವಗಳು/ಸಂಪಾದನೋತ್ಸವ ತುಮಕೂರು ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾನಿಲಯ ೨೦೧೮ — by Admin — last modified Aug 11, 2018 01:32 AM: CIS-A2K team held a workshop in Tumakur University on 25 July 2018.
వికీపీడియా:సమావేశం/హైదరాబాదు/మిసిమి పత్రిక భాగస్వామ్య సమావేశం, జూలై 2018 — by Admin — last modified Aug 11, 2018 12:37 AM: On 24 July 2018, CIS-A2K team held partnership discussions with Misimi Telugu monthly magazine.
How to write differently for different Telugu digital platforms - awareness session to Indu Gnana Vedika — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Jul 19, 2018 02:56 PM: Different digital platforms require a different style of writing based on nature, ethos, and audience of the platform. Without which writer and piece of writing can only find rejections and deletions.
వికీపీడియా:సమావేశం/గుంటూరు/అన్నమయ్య గ్రంథాలయం - భాగస్వామ్య కార్యక్రమం జూలై 2018 — by Admin — last modified Aug 11, 2018 12:43 AM: CIS-A2K partnership activity in Annamayya Library, Guntur.
Wiki Advanced Training 2018: A Colourful Recap — by Manavpreet Kaur — last modified Jul 08, 2018 11:23 PM: A colourful recap of the Wiki Advanced Training by User:Manavpreet Kaur, an Indian Wikimedian. This document has 4 pages, please use the PDF viewer's zoom in, if needed. Scroll down and enjoy. :)
ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ ತರಬೇತಿ ೨೦೧೮ @ ರಾಂಚಿ — by Vikas Hegde — last modified Jul 04, 2018 05:02 PM: ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯನ್ನರಾದ ವಿಕಾಸ್ ಹೆಗಡೆ ಅವರು Wiki Advanced Training 2018ರ ತಮ್ಮ ಅನುಭವ ಮತ್ತು ಕಲಿತ ವಿಚಾರಗಳನ್ನು ಈ ಬ್ಲಾಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
Maharashtra's Copyright Policy Makes Education Unaffordable — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jun 26, 2018 02:22 PM: In an alarming development for Indian students, Balbharati – the Maharashtra state bureau of textbook production and curriculum research – has issued a copyright policy that forces all publishers, digital educational-content creators, and coaching classes to obtain expensive licenses for developing material directly or indirectly relating to Balbharati’s content.
36th SCCR: CIS Statement on Draft Action Plan for Educational and Research Institutions and Persons with Other Disabilities — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 31, 2018 09:46 AM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 36th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from May 28, 2018 to June 1, 2018, made this statement on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations on behalf of CIS on Day 4, May 31.
36th SCCR: CIS Statement on the Draft Action Plan for Libraries, Archives and Museums — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 31, 2018 09:47 AM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 36th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from May 28, 2018 to June 1, 2018, made this statement on the Draft Action Plan on advancing limitations and exceptions for libraries, archives and Museums on behalf of CIS on Day 3, May 30.
36th SCCR: CIS Statement on Limitations and Exceptions Agenda — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 31, 2018 09:43 AM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 36th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from May 28, 2018 to June 1, 2018, made this statement on the Limitations and Exceptions agenda on behalf of CIS on Day 3, May 30.
NGOs circulate letter at WIPO SCCR/36 raising serious concerns about draft Broadcasting Treaty — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 29, 2018 10:42 AM: At the 36th Meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), negotiations on the Broadcasting Treaty continue - this time with a sense of urgency to present results of the 20 year negotiations to the UN General Assembly, scheduled in September this year. There remain long-pending issues within the Treaty, which have largely been ignored or weakly acknowledged by the Committee. In view of the threats that this Treaty poses to Access to Knowledge and the mission of educators, archivists, researchers, libraries and creators, NGOs at WIPO (including CIS) have circulated the letter below.
36th SCCR: CIS Statement on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 28, 2018 02:04 PM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 36th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from May 28, 2018 to June 1, 2018, made this statement on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations on behalf of CIS on Day 1, May 28.
Indian Women and Craft Edit-a-thon — by Gopalakrishna A. — last modified Jul 04, 2018 04:30 PM: A two-day long edit-a-thon aimed to archive the Women achievers in the field of art and craft on Kannada Wikipedia was held with the help of Srishti Institute and Janastu on 8th March and 25th March 2018.
Wikipedia edit-a-thon in mind? Kindly start here — by Tito Dutta — last modified May 11, 2018 08:15 AM: Are you thinking to conduct a Wikipedia edit-a-thon? You may use this document as an initial guide. Please note: this article is written keeping specially organisations, institutions, and individuals in mind, who are new to Wikipedia world. We are starting this post with some basic questions. Please feel free to ask questions by mailing tito "at" cis-india.org
Exploring Wikimedia platforms in Dialogue on the Urban Rivers of Maharashtra — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified May 07, 2018 04:25 PM: INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) and SANDRP (South Asian Network of Dams, Rivers and People) organized “A Dialogue on the Urban Rivers of Maharashtra” on 20-21 April 2018 from 9:00am-5:30pm at Yashada, Pune.
Institutional Partnership with Tribal Research & Training Institute — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified May 07, 2018 04:29 PM: CIS-A2K has been building partnerships with major state government departments in Maharashtra to promote free & open knowledge resources. One such effort resulted into official Govt.Resolution of Tribal Research & Training Institute under State Tribal Development department on Expert's Study Group Formation for developing Open Knowledge Platforms.
Article on Telugu Wikisource Feature Book in Pustakam.net — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Apr 17, 2018 02:08 PM: An article about Telugu Wikisource feature book - Andhrula Sanghika Charitra (ఆంధ్రుల సాంఘిక చరిత్ర) by Pavan Santhosh got published in Pustakam.net.
Sambad Health and Women Edit-a-thon — by Admin — last modified May 07, 2018 04:34 PM: Sambad Health and Women Edit-a-thon was an offline edit-a-thon held in the month of April in collaboration with the Sambad media house, Odia Wikimedia User Group and the Center for Internet and Society.
CIS' Submission on Statement of Working of Patents — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Apr 21, 2018 03:32 PM: The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) made a submission to the Indian Patent Office on the issue of Statement of Working as per Form 27 under the Patents Act, 1970.
Chromebook for the Project Tiger- How it is helping me to contribute actively on Wikimedia projects! — by Sangram Keshari Senapati — last modified Apr 20, 2018 06:21 AM: Project Tiger is a collaboration project of Wikimedia Foundation with Centre for Internet and Society, Wikimedia India and other affiliates of India to improve and create high-quality content in Indic languages like Odia, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi etc.This project helps the active and experienced Wikipedia editors by supporting them with Internet charges for 6 months and Laptops to 50 volunteers to address existing Wikipedia content gaps.
Marathi Language Day events by CIS-A2K in February 2018 — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Mar 17, 2018 08:58 AM: Marathi Language day is celebrated all over world on 27th February. Dnyanpeeth award winning writer V.V.Shirwadkar alias Kusumagraj was born on this date. Various events and activities were conducted in collaboration with community, institutions and government departments.
Mini Train the Trainer 2018 — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Mar 17, 2018 08:51 AM: A mini train the trainer 2018 (Mini TTT 2018) program was organized by CIS-A2K at Jnana Prabodhini & Bhave High School, Sadashiv Peth, Pune on 24 and 25 February 2018. Total 19 active editors from Marathi community participated. Experienced editors from community were also involved in the program.
Experience and Learning outcome from Wikipedia Education Program — by Lakshmi Karlekar — last modified Jan 30, 2018 07:14 PM: In this blog post you will find a Christ University student's experience during Wikipedia Education Program.
Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products — by Jorge L. Contreras, Rohini Lakshané and Paxton M. Lewis — last modified Jan 23, 2018 03:09 PM: The paper titled "Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products" has been published in the latest issue of the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. It is one of the outputs of the Pervasive Technology project and has been authored by Prof. Jorge L. Contreras, Paxton M. Lewis, and Rohini Lakshané.
Government of Odisha adopting Creative Commons License to Promote Transparency and Access to Knowledge — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Jan 18, 2018 01:22 AM: This year started with an astonishing announcement by the Government of Odisha towards the free knowledge movement. On the Public Domain day, which is celebrated every year on 1st January, The Government of Odisha continuing its collaboration with the Odia Wikipedia community has announced to release the content of its two major departments under Creative Commons license.
CIS' Submission to DIPP and CGPDTM at meeting with IP Stakeholders — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Dec 13, 2017 02:31 PM: The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks held a meeting with IP stakeholders on December 7, 2017, chaired by the Secretary, DIPP, to take suggestions on improving procedures and functioning of the Office. Anubha Sinha attended the meeting and requested the DIPP to improve compliance of uploading Form 27s by patentees and ensure proper enforcement of related provisions within the Indian Patent Act, 1970. Additionally, we sent a detailed submission to the Office, drawing from our recent research. Thanks to Rohini Lakshane and Aman Goyal for their inputs.
Submission to DIPP at Meeting with IP Stakeholders — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jan 01, 2018 01:27 AM: Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) made a submission to the Department of Industrial Planning and Promotion (DIPP) on 7 December 2017.
Nichole Saad from the Wikimedia Foundation visits Christ University — by Manasa Rao — last modified Dec 17, 2017 07:01 PM
Christ University Wikipedia Education Program Internship — by Manasa Rao — last modified Dec 14, 2017 08:55 AM
Wikipedia Orientation Program at Rotary Club of Salem — by Manasa Rao — last modified Dec 11, 2017 03:52 PM: CIS-A2K in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Salem, Tamil Nadu conducted a two-day Wikipedia orientation workshop for student members of the club.
Wikimedia Technical Workshop at Savitribai Phule Pune University — by Manasa Rao — last modified Dec 19, 2017 04:03 PM
Kannada Wikipedia Orientation Workshop at IISc, Bengaluru — by Gopalakrishna A — last modified Dec 19, 2017 04:16 PM
35th SCCR: CIS' Question to Dr. Rostama on her Study on the Impact of the Digital Environment on Copyright Legislation — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Nov 19, 2017 07:50 AM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 35th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 13 November, 2017 to 18 November, 2017, posed this question on the agenda 'Other Matters' on behalf of CIS on Day 5, 17 November, 2017.
Marathi Wikipedia workshop for Sandarbh Science magazine writers — by Manasa Rao — last modified Dec 19, 2017 03:53 PM: A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently conducted for the writers at Sandarbh Science magazine.
35th SCCR: CIS Statement on GRULAC Proposal for Analysis of Copyright in the Digital Environment — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Nov 17, 2017 10:03 AM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 35th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 13 November, 2017 to 18 November, 2017, made this statement on the agenda 'Other Matters' on behalf of CIS on Day 5, 17 November, 2017.
35th SCCR: CIS Statement on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Nov 15, 2017 01:35 PM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 35th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 13 November, 2017 to 18 November, 2017, made this statement on the agenda for Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives on behalf of CIS on Day 3, 15 November, 2017.
CIS-A2K signs MoU with Telangana Government — by Manasa Rao — last modified Nov 08, 2017 10:08 AM
Discussion on Creation of Social Media Guidelines & Strategy for Telugu Wikimedia — by Manasa Rao — last modified Oct 24, 2017 02:42 PM: Between 1 to 16 September, an online discussion took place on the creation of social media guidelines and strategy for Telugu Wikimedia handles online.
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Solapur University — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Oct 24, 2017 02:09 PM: 15 September
Orientation Program at Kannada University, Hampi — by Gopalakrishna A. — last modified Oct 24, 2017 01:01 PM: A Kannada Wikipedia Orientation Program was conducted at Kannada University Hampi on 31 August and 1 September 2017.
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Aurangabad — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Oct 24, 2017 01:18 PM: A Marathi Wikipedia Workshop was recently held at the MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication on 11 August 2017.
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal, Satara — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Oct 24, 2017 11:52 AM
Wikimedia Workshop at Ismailsaheb Mulla Law College, Satara — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Oct 24, 2017 11:52 AM: A Wikimedia Workshop was on 4 August 2017 at the Ismailsaheb Mulla Law College in Satara to introduce the Wikipedia and its sister projects to the students.
Odia Wikisource Turns 3 — by Manasa Rao — last modified Oct 23, 2017 05:40 AM
Marathi Wikipedia - Vishwakosh Workshop for Science writers in IUCAA, Pune — by Manasa Rao — last modified Dec 20, 2017 02:42 AM
RTI request to Indian Patents Office for Form 27 (Statement of Working of patents), March 2016 — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Oct 13, 2017 04:35 AM: The Centre for Internet and Society filed this request under the Right to Information Act in March 2016 as part of research for the paper: Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products: An Empirical Assessment of India's Form 27 Practice and Compliance (July 2017). We sought forms pertaining to 61 of the patents found in our patent landscaping study. These forms were not available on the online public databases, InPASS and IPAIRS, at the time of the filing the RTI request. Research assistance was provided by intern Shreshth Wadhwa.
RTI request to Indian Patents Office for Form 27 (Statement of Working of patents), 2015 — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Oct 13, 2017 04:37 AM: The Centre for Internet and Society filed this request under the Right to Information Act in 2015 as part of research for the paper: Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products: An Empirical Assessment of India's Form 27 Practice and Compliance (July 2017). We sought Form 27 (also known as Statements of Working) pertaining to randomly selected patents found in our patent landscaping study. These forms were not available on the online public databases, InPASS and IPAIRS, at the time of the filing the RTI request. Research assistance was provided by intern Nayana Dasgupta.
Guest Blog: Retd. Col. Ashwin Baindur on Strategy, Wikimedia Strategy Salon, Vijayawada — by Manasa Rao — last modified Oct 24, 2017 11:52 AM
Dataset for "Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products: An Empirical Assessment of India's Form 27 Practice and Compliance" — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Sep 10, 2017 03:11 PM: Dataset of the first comprehensive and systematic analysis of 4,916 valid Statements of Working (Form 27) corresponding to 3,126 patents pertaining to mobile technology in India. Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Wikipedia Workshop on Template Creation and Modification Conducted in Bengaluru — by Tito Dutta — last modified Aug 10, 2017 06:48 AM: A Wikipedia workshop on template creation, modification was conducted in Bengaluru on 30 July 2017. Here is a report.
RCEP IP Chapter: A Serious Threat to Access to Knowledge/ Cultural Goods? — by Arul George Scaria and Anubha Sinha — last modified Aug 01, 2017 03:24 PM: Negotiators from sixteen countries are currently meeting in Hyderabad for discussing a free trade agreement titled Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
CIS-A2K Co-Facilitates Punjabi Wikimedians Wikimedia Strategy Meeting — by Tito Dutta — last modified Aug 01, 2017 08:02 AM: On 15 July 2017, Punjabi Wikimedia User Group, conducted Punjabi Wikimedia Strategy Meeting at Patiala. CIS-A2K members Tanveer Hasan and Tito Dutta attended the event as co-facilitator and resource person. The event was followed by a meeting on the next day when active Punjabi Wikimedians and CIS-A2K representatives discussed different plans and strategies for the Punjabi Wikimedian projects in the coming months.
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop in Sangli, Maharashtra — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Aug 16, 2017 08:40 AM: A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently held in Sangli, Maharashtra
Telugu Wikisource Workshop — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Aug 16, 2017 08:40 AM: Recently, a Telugu Wikisource Workshop was conducted in Hyderabad between 22- 23 July, 2017
Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products: An Empirical Assessment of India's Form 27 Practice and Compliance — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Oct 13, 2017 04:32 AM: India requires every patentee to file an annual statement, also known as “Form 27”, describing the working of each of its issued Indian patents. If a patent is not locally worked within three years of its issuance, any person may request a compulsory license, and if the patent is not adequately worked within two years of the grant of such a compulsory license, it may be revoked. The research paper on Form 27 practices and compliance by patentees authored by Prof Jorge L. Contreras, University of Utah, and Rohini Lakshané, Centre for Internet and Society has been accepted for publication in the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law.
Course Packs for Education Ruled Legal in India — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jul 14, 2017 04:05 AM: On 9 May 2017, a five year court battle between publishers and universities finally came to an end when the Supreme Court of India dismissed an appeal by the Indian Reprographic Rights Organization (IRRO) challenging an earlier judgment of Delhi High Court that ruled course packs in India legal for educational purposes.
How It Came To Be: Wiki Loves Uniformed Services — by Guest blogger: Krishna Chaitanya Velaga — last modified Jul 10, 2017 04:14 AM
Christ University Wikipedia Education Program Faculty Orientation Report — by Ananth Subray — last modified Aug 03, 2017 04:45 AM: Christ University faculty were given an orientation for the upcoming year on the Wikipedia Education Program
Christ University Wikipedia Education Program Internship — by Manasa Rao and Ananth Subray — last modified Jul 05, 2017 09:33 AM
Indian Patent Office updates Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions, yet again — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jul 05, 2017 07:42 AM: By discarding a test brought into force last year, the updated Guidelines take no concrete position to help clarify the ambiguity around patentability of software inventions in India.
Asian Athletics Championships 2017 Edit-a-thon — by Sailesh Patnaik & Jnanaranjan Sahu — last modified Aug 01, 2017 05:23 AM: Odia Wikipedians, in conjunction with Indian Athletics Federation and Sports and Youth Services collaborated to document the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships. Hundreds of photos were uploaded and new Wikipedia content added to inform the event’s fans.
Wikidata workshop (South India) conducted in Bangalore — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 28, 2017 09:48 AM: Wikidata workshop (South India) has been conducted in Bangalore on 10 and 11 June 2017. 11 Wikimedians from 6 Indic Wikimedia communities participated in the workshop. Here is a report.
Dalit History Month 2017 edit-a-thon in Delhi, India — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 21, 2017 06:09 AM: Dalit History Month edit-a-thon was conducted in Delhi on 20 May 2017. Here is a report.
Thematic Edit-a-thon at Yashawantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Satara — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Jul 11, 2017 09:35 AM
Tallapaka Pada Sahityam is now on Wikisource — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Jul 10, 2017 01:44 PM
34th SCCR: A Summary Report — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 30, 2017 01:55 PM: The 34th session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) was held from 1st- 5th May 2017 at Geneva, Switzerland. Anubha Sinha attended the session and provides an update on the status of discussions and noteworthy emerging/unsolved debates in the Committee.
34th SCCR: Observer Statements on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 30, 2017 05:55 AM: Observers made the following statements on the agenda of limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives on 3rd May 2017.
34th SCCR: Observer Statements on Limitations and Exceptions for Educational and Research Institutions — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 30, 2017 05:51 AM: Observers made the following statements on discussion around limitations and exceptions for educational and research institutions on 3rd May 2017.
34th SCCR: Observer Statements on Proposal for Analysis of Copyright related to the Digital Environment — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 30, 2017 05:39 AM: Observers made the following statements on GRULAC's proposal on analysis of copyright related to the digital environment on 5th May 2017.
Preliminary research result on Wikipedia gender gap in India — by Ting-Yi Chang — last modified May 23, 2017 11:09 AM: Since June 2016, Ting-Yi Chang from the University of Toronto has worked with the CIS-A2K team to conduct action research on the Wikipedia gender gap in India. The research aims to improve the understanding of the gender gap (imbalance) issue in the Indian Wikipedia communities while examining local interventions.
34th SCCR: CIS Statement on the Proposal for Analysis of Copyright Related to the Digital Environment — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 15, 2017 10:42 AM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 34th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 1 May, 2017 to 5 May, 2017, made this statement during the discussion on the Proposal for Analysis of Copyright Related to the Digital Environment.
34th SCCR: CIS Statement on the Discussion on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 15, 2017 10:35 AM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 34th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 1 May, 2017 to 5 May, 2017, made this statement during the discussion on limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives.
Thematic Edit-a-thon at J.P.Naik Centre for Education & Development, Pune — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Jun 07, 2017 08:59 AM: A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was held at the J.P. Naik Centre for Education and Development in Pune recently.
Wiki Loves Mayabazaar — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Jun 07, 2017 09:24 AM
Marathi Wikipedia Symposium at Gokhale Institute Of Politics & Economics — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Jun 07, 2017 08:45 AM: A strategic symposium on Marathi Wikipedia and its sister projects was conducted on 29 April, 2017
Continuing community engagement: Communities of interest and Quarrying — by Manasa Rao — last modified May 19, 2017 03:23 PM: In telling the stories of Indian Wikipedians, we bring to you the story of Dr. Diptanshu Das, a doctor and avid Wikipedian, working with WikiProject Medicine who recently approached CIS-A2K with a technical request.
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Savitribai Phule Mahila Ekatma Samaj Mandal, Aurangabad — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 19, 2017 11:44 AM: A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was conducted at Savitribai Phule Mahila Ekatma Samaj Mandal in Aurangabad
Digitisation, Wikimedia Commons and Wikisource Orientation Workshop at Vigyan Ashram, Pabal, Pune District — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Jun 07, 2017 08:37 AM: A digitization workshop was held at Vigyan Ashram, following the success of the introductory workshop in February.
Wikisource:Internship Project at New Law College, Pune — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Mar 28, 2017 03:37 PM: This Wiki - internship project is being conducted for New Law College (Pune),under the guidance of Prof.Dr.Mukund Sarda, Dean and Principal of NLC by CIS A2K as part of this project at en wikisource; teams of students will acomplish proof reading, validation, compilation annotation etc. of Indian Laws and to begin with Copyright laws and Intellectual property laws at Portal:Copyright law/Copyright law of India.
Sambad 100 Women Edit-a-thon — by Ting Yi Chang and Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Apr 18, 2017 10:05 AM: A two-day 100 Women Edit-a-thon was held on March 18 and 19, 2017 in collaboration with Odisha’s biggest newspaper publisher Sambad. The event was inspired by BBC’s 100 Women series and edit-a-thons with the same name in December 2016. More than 20 female journalists participated and registered as new Odia Wikipedians. The event served as a highlight of the Women’s History Month in Indian language Wikipedias as well as in the global movement.
Women’s History Month: Sambad collaborates with Odia Wikipedia for a Two Day Edit-a-thon — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Mar 17, 2017 05:36 AM: Sambad's 100 Women Edit-a-thon: Two day edit-a-thon to increase quantity and quality of women-related articles on Odia Wikipedia
Train The Trainer 2017 — by Manasa Rao — last modified Jun 07, 2017 08:43 AM
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon on Environment Management — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 10, 2017 04:58 PM: A Wikipedia edit-a-thon was organized by CSIBER College and the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) in Kolhapur on March 30, 2017. Subodh Kulkarni was a trainer. The edit-a-thon was attended by 32 students.
Women's Day Edit-a-thon at Jeewan Jyoti Women's Empowerment Centre, Pune — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 10, 2017 04:04 PM: Sterlite Tech Foundation and Jnana Prabodhini joined hands with the Centre for Internet & Society's Access to Knowledge team to hold a Wikipedia edit-a-thon at Jeewan Jyoti Women's Empowerment Centre, Ambawane in Pune on March 10, 2017. Subodh Kulkarni was one of the trainers. The edit-a-thon was attended by 28 students.
Women's Day Edit-a-thon at Jnana Prabodhini — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 15, 2017 07:31 AM: A Marathi Wikipedia Women's Day edit-a-thon was conducted in collaboration with Jnana Prabodhini to commemorate the celebration of International Women's Day.
"Marathi Bhasha Gaurav Din" celebrations in Maharashtra — by [email protected] — last modified Mar 10, 2017 05:36 AM: Marathi Language Day was recently commemorated across the state of Maharashtra to celebrate the Marathi language, its literature and culture.
MediaWiki Training 2017 — by Tito Dutta and Ananth Subray — last modified Jun 07, 2017 08:43 AM: MediaWiki Training 2017 conducted in Bangalore
WikiTungi: Bhubaneswar City Wiki Community Turns 1 — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Feb 27, 2017 01:42 AM: The Odia Wikipedia’s WikiTungi is an attempt at building a community of Wikimedians at the city level.
Marathi Wikisource & Digitisation Workshop — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Mar 05, 2017 02:34 AM: A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was organized by the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS-A2K) team on February 17 and 18, 2017. Maharashtra Granthottejak Sanstha, Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited and Jnana Prabhodini were the co-organizers. The discussions were held at Jnana Prabodhini, Sadashiv Peth, Pune on February 17 and C Trade Tower, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune on February 18, 2017.
Orientation & Training session for Environmental Activists in Satara on 13th February 2017 — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 16, 2017 02:43 PM: A Marathi Wikipedia Orientation & Training session for Environmental Activists was held in Satara on 13 February, 2017
Bargarh Manuscript Digitisation Project — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Apr 16, 2017 08:08 PM: The digitisation of temple manuscripts at the Dadhivamana Temple, Bargarh in Western Odisha followed by a workshop for the students of Imperial College took place between 11- 12 February, 2017.
Imperial College Orientation Program, Bargarh — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Apr 16, 2017 07:51 PM: An Odia Wikipedia workshop was conducted at Imperial College, Bargarh on 12 February, 2017.
Only 8.5pc of Wikipedia Editors are Women. How do we fix the Gender Gap on the Internet? — by Ting-Yi Chang — last modified Feb 09, 2017 02:49 AM: Women-related articles are generally shorter, more prone to deletion, and more likely to be peripheral pieces under male-centric articles.
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Mar 05, 2017 01:31 AM: A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was conducted by the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS-A2K) on February 5, 2017 at Vigyan Ashram, Pabal in Pune.
"Free-license Wings To Your Books" in Vijayawada — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Apr 16, 2017 10:38 AM: "Free-license Wings To Your Books" event held at Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada
Google-translated Telugu articles prioritisation exercise: February iteration — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Apr 18, 2017 05:02 AM: The February iteration of the Google-translated Telugu articles prioritisation exercise took place online.
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at 'Swa'-Roopwardhinee, Pune — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 16, 2017 02:31 PM: A Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was held at 'Swa'-Roopwardhinee, Pune on 7th February 2017
"Free-license Wings To Your Books" in Guntur — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Apr 16, 2017 10:53 AM: "Free-license Wings To Your Books" event held at Annamayya Library, Guntur
Odia Wikipedia Workshop in IIMC, Dhenkanal — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Apr 17, 2017 06:31 AM: An Odia Wikipedia Workshop was conducted at IIMC, Dhenkanal on 31 January, 2017
Meet Telugu Wikipedian Surampudi Meena Gayathri – the first South Indian Wikiwoman completing 100Wikidays Challenge — by Ting-Yi Chang — last modified Jan 23, 2017 11:53 AM: In December 2016, Ms. Meena Gayathri and her fellow Telugu Wikipedians celebrated the Telugu Wikipedia Day and her accomplishment in the 100Wikidays Challenge – a challenge that requires Wikipedians to create one new article per day for one hundred days in a row. When asked about how it feels to take up the challenge and to become the first South Indian Wikiwoman who completed it, she replied “Like exericing, you would think it is hard to do it every day but if you try, it is really satisfying.” Ms. Meena Gayathri has been one of the few active female Telugu Wikipedians since 2014. Her contribution and passion towards her language and culture have transcended into what she called a “knowledge revolution.”
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu College, Kolhapur — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 16, 2017 02:15 PM: A Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was conducted at Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu College, Kolhapur on 23 January, 2017.
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Shivaji University, Kolhapur — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 16, 2017 01:47 PM: A Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was held at Shivaji University, Kolhapur on 19 January, 2017
WikiSangamotsavam 2016 — by [email protected] — last modified Feb 06, 2017 12:47 PM: The Malayalam Wikipedia community jointly held its anniversary celebrations and annual gathering in Kasaragod district, Kerala from 26 to 28 December, 2016. The Centre for Internet and Society was invited to partake in the event.
Telugu Wikipedia Stall at Hyderabad Book Fair — by [email protected] — last modified Feb 06, 2017 12:48 PM: Telugu Wikipedia community put up a stall at the Hyderabad Book Fair in December welcoming members of the public to join as editors on the regional encyclopaedia.
Telugu Wikipedia Stall at Rajahmundry Book Fair — by [email protected] — last modified Feb 06, 2017 12:48 PM: Telugu Wikipedia community put up a stall at the three day Rajahmundry Book Fair from 20 - 23 November 2016.
Telugu Wikipedia Stall at Rajahmundry Book Fair — by [email protected] — last modified Jan 18, 2017 04:05 PM: Telugu Wikipedia community put up a stall at the three day Rajahmundry Book Fair from 20 - 23 November 2016.
Mini Workshop on Tools: Wikipedia Monthly Meetup, Hyderabad — by Manasa Rao and Pavan Santhosh — last modified Feb 06, 2017 12:49 PM: Telugu Wikipedia community held its monthly meet-up in Hyderabad on 28 August 2016.
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Sangli, Maharashtra — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 16, 2017 01:22 PM: A Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was conducted at Willingdon College, Sangli on 18 January, 2017
Super Cassettes v. MySpace (Redux) — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jan 18, 2017 02:31 PM: The latest judgment in the matter of Super Cassettes v. MySpace is a landmark and progressive ruling, which strengthens the safe harbor immunity enjoyed by Internet intermediaries in India. It interprets the provisions of the IT Act, 2000 and the Copyright Act, 1957 to restore safe harbor immunity to intermediaries even in the case of copyright claims. It also relieves MySpace from pre-screening user-uploaded content, endeavouring to strike a balance between free speech and censorship. CIS was one of the intervenors in the case, and has been duly acknowledged in the judgment.
Telugu Wikipedia stall at Vijayawada Book Festival — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Apr 15, 2017 04:23 PM: The Telugu Wikipedia community put up a stall at the Vijayawada Book Festival in January, in order to increase reach of the regional language encyclopaedia.
Google-translated Telugu articles prioritisation exercise: January iteration — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Apr 15, 2017 05:47 PM: The January iteration of the Google-translated Telugu articles prioritisation exercise took place online.
Mini TTT and MWT held in Kolkata — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 28, 2017 09:53 AM: A regional version of Train The Trainer and MediaWiki Training was recently conducted in Kolkata.
Adikavi Nannaya University Telugu Wikipedia Workshop — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Apr 16, 2017 08:57 AM: A Telugu Wikipedia introductory workshop was conducted for the students of Adikavi Nannaya University, Rajahmundry between 6- 7 January, 2017.
Orientation & Training session of Jalbiradari Activists — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Apr 16, 2017 11:30 AM: An Orientation & Training session of Jalbiradari Activists was held on 4 January, 2017
Ongoing Proof-reading Effort by ALC Student Wikimedians in Telugu Wikisource — by Pavan Santosh & Ting-Yi Chang — last modified Dec 30, 2016 11:00 AM: Student Wikimedians at Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada formatted and proof-read more than 1,900 folios in Telugu Wikisource during the last few weeks of November (2016). Each day, a group of twenty students uses the lab facility provided by the college after regular classes to make necessary formatting changes and fix spelling mistakes in the folios of books available in Telugu Wikisource. Till date, the student Wikipedians have proofread eight books.
Wikipedia workshop for Konkani students conducted in Mangaluru — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 28, 2017 09:57 AM: A two days Wikipedia workshop "introduction to Wikipedia" was conducted at Besant College, Mangaluru. 16 undergraduate and post-graduate students from 3 different colleges participated in the event. Here is a report.
Pranay Raj record in 100 days-100 articles — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Dec 19, 2016 06:16 PM: Telugu Theatre scholar Pranay Raj Vangari from Motkur of Yadadri District, Telangana created record by completing a challenge that is famous worldwide in Wikimedia community - "100 Days-100 Articles". Pranay Raj is a theatre scholar and artist who used to travel length and breadth of Telangana & Andhra Pradesh for research and performances.
వంద రోజులు.. వంద వ్యాసాలు - తెలుగు వికీపీడియాలో మోత్కూరు యువకుని రికార్డు (100 Days...100 Articles: Wikipedian from Motkur created record in Telugu Wikipedia) — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Dec 18, 2016 03:09 PM: Pranay Raj Vangari of Motkur Padmashali colony created record in Telugu Wikipedia. "100 Days- 100 Articles" is already going on in many languages worldwide and Pranay Raj took challenge in Telugu Wikipedia, completed it successfully. Pranay is theatre scholor. He started first article in this challenge on september 8 and continued to write articles on every day till December 16 to complete 100 articles. Pranay said that two other Telugu Wikipedians (Pavan and Meena) successfully completed the challenge and explained that he inspired from them to complete it. Telangana state language & cultural department director Mamidi Harikrishna felicitated Pranay in His chamber on this occasion and appreciated for his work.
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon in Kolhapur — by Subodh Kulkarni — last modified Dec 16, 2016 11:34 PM: On behalf of CIS-A2K team Subodh Kulkarni conducted a Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Shivaji University in Kolhapur on 15 December 2016. The goal of the Wikipedia edit-a-thon was to build resources in the field of Political Science on Marathi Wikipedia and equip its participants with the process of contributing to Wikipedia, and to introduce it as a concept to them.
25th Session of the WIPO SCP: Statement on Future work — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Dec 16, 2016 11:01 PM: Rohini Lakshané, attending the 25th session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) held in Geneva from December 12, 2016 to December 15, 2016, made this statement on Agenda Item #12, "Future Work".
25th Session of the WIPO SCP: Statement on Assessment of Inventive Step — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Dec 16, 2016 10:27 PM: Statement emailed by Rohini Lakshané on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society to the Secretariat for the WIPO Standing Committee for the Law of Patents, Twenty Fifth Session, with reference to agenda item 7, "Sharing session on examples and cases relating to assessment of inventive step including, but not limited to, the topics suggested in document SCP/24/3, paragraph 8.
Mini TTT and MWT conducted in Hyderabad, India — by dutta — last modified Dec 15, 2016 05:28 AM: Mini Train-the-Trainer and MediaWiki Trainer program was conducted on 10 and 11 December 2016 in Hyderabad. 15 Wikipedians from 4 cities of Andhra pradesh and Telangana 2 Indic Wikimedia communities participated in the event. Here is a report.
A Shortcut to Freedom — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 28, 2017 09:58 AM: In our everyday life we need access to knowledge and information, we need books (and magazines, newspapers), movies (and documentaries, animations), music for education and entertainment purposes. Now, a delighting fact is almost everything we need, from a 1965 book to the latest Bollywood movie’s MP3 song, is available on the web. You knock the door, and it opens. Why should we care for free knowledge then? We have a got “a shortcut to freedom”.
The Digital Protection of Traditional Knowledge: Questions Raised by the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in India — by Sunil Abraham and Vidushi Marda — last modified Dec 09, 2016 03:50 PM: This is an edited version of part three of a study that considers the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) through aspects of intellectual property in India, namely, mobile patents, free and open source software, and India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library. Through these, it demonstrates the potential of the internet in realising ESCRs.
Freedom in Feb — an awareness increasing campaign — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 28, 2017 09:59 AM: You have heard about the Ice bucket challenge (and the rice bucket challenge). You may have heard about the 100happinessdays challenge (and its Wikipedia version 100wikidayschallenge). You may have heard and participated in the November no shaving challenge. Some of these campaigns are organized to increase awareness about different social issues. Now here the Centre for Internet and Society, India brings to you a campaign called Freedom In Feb.
Odia Wikipedia: Sambalpur University Workshop — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Apr 17, 2017 06:44 AM: An Odia Wikipedia orientation-cum-workshop program was organised for the students of Sambalpur University on 27 November, 2016.
Sambalpur University Workshop — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Dec 02, 2016 02:31 AM: An Odia Wikipedia Orientation program cum workshop was organized by CIS-A2K team in Sambalpur University on November 27, 2016. Sailesh Patnaik attended the workshop.
Free Knowledge and Indian Government Work — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 28, 2017 10:02 AM: Indian Government works are not available under free and open licenses. On the other hand a large number countries such as Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Israel, Macedonia, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela etc. have adopted the Creative Commons and other free licenses. The works by the US Federal Government automatically go into public domain. This article promotes the idea that the Government works should be freely licensed, wherever possible and applicable.
Improving Telugu Village Articles — by Pavan Santhosh — last modified Nov 26, 2016 02:27 AM: Telugu wikipedians on 6 October 2016 held a discussion on improving the quality of Telugu articles. The event was organized by IIIT, Hyderabad, CIS-A2K and OpenGeo.
100wikidays: the journey so far — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 28, 2017 10:04 AM: In this article we'll chat with Bulgarian Wikipedian Vassia Atanassova (User:Spiritia) on the journey of 100wikidays so far, initial difficulties, and participation of Indian Wikipedia communities in the challenge.
33rd SCCR: CIS Statement on the GRULAC Proposal for Analysis of Copyright in the Digital Environment — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Nov 18, 2016 03:28 PM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 33rd Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 14 November, 2016 to 19 November, 2016, made this statement on the GRULAC Proposal for Analysis of Copyright in the Digital Environment on behalf of CIS on Day 5, 18 November, 2016.
33rd SCCR: CIS Statement on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Nov 16, 2016 01:37 PM: Anubha Sinha, attending the 33rd Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 14 November, 2016 to 19 November, 2016, made this statement on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations on behalf of CIS on Day 3, 16 November, 2016.
33rd SCCR: Opening Statement by India on behalf of the Asia and the Pacific Group — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Nov 14, 2016 11:04 AM: Dr. Sumit Seth(Economic Affairs) of the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva delivered the Opening Statement on behalf of the Asia and the Pacific Group at 33rd Session of the of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights on 14th November 2016.
Wikipedia Asian Month — 2016 iteration starts on 1 November — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 28, 2017 10:05 AM: The second iteration of Wikipedia Asian Month (WAM), a month-long edit-a-thon to create and improve Asia-related articles on Wikipedia, is going to start on 1 November 2016. In this blog post we'll revisit the stats of the 2015 iteration of the event. We'll also talk to Addis Wang, an organizer of WAM, to know more about their progress and preparation.
How Open Access Content helps Fuel Growth in Indian-language Wikipedias — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Oct 25, 2016 01:39 AM: Mobile Internet connectivity is growing rapidly in rural India, and because most Internet users are more comfortable in their native languages, websites producing content in Indian languages are going to drive this growth. In a country like India in which only a handful of journals are available in Indian languages, open access to research and educational resources is hugely important for populating content for the various Indian language Wikipedias.
What Indian Language Wikipedias can do for Greater Open Access in India — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Oct 22, 2016 04:12 AM: The number of internet users in India was expected to reach 460 million by 2015, as the growth in the previous year was 49 percent. The total number of users for Hindi content alone reached about 60 million last year.
Querying Wikipedia Data — by U.B.Pavanaja — last modified Oct 21, 2016 02:51 PM: Recently I wrote a blog about the stub article length of Wikipedia articles. I mentioned the difference in actual number of characters and the number of bytes used to define stub articles between English and Indian language Wikipedias. One can open any language Wikipedia, type Special:ShortPages in the search box to get the list of articles which have less than 2048 bytes.
UTF-8, Indic and Stub Length Article in Wikipedia — by U.B.Pavanaja — last modified Oct 20, 2016 02:26 AM: One of the activities conducted as part of Wiki Conference India 2016 was the Punjab Editathon. It was about adding articles related to Punjab to Indian language Wikipedias and English Wikipedia. There was also an announcement made about some award for highest contribution.
(Lack of) Representation of Non-Western World in Process of Creation of Web Standards — by Harsh Gupta — last modified Oct 20, 2016 01:44 AM: World Wide Consortium (W3C) as a standard setting organization for the World Wide Web plays a very important role in shaping the web. We focus on the ongoing controversy related to Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) and found that there was a serious lack of participation from people from non-western countries. We also found serious lack of gender diversity in the EME debate.
Technical Alternative to Encrypted Media Extensions — by Harsh Gupta — last modified Oct 20, 2016 12:16 AM: This post is an analysis of the various technical alternatives to EME (encyrpted media extensions) that have emerged from the discussions at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These alternatives and the proposed EME specification along six dimensions are examined.
Grants:APG/Proposals/2014-2015 round2/The Centre for Internet and Society/Impact report form — by Tanveer Hasan — last modified Oct 09, 2016 02:40 PM: This form is for organizations receiving Annual Plan Grants to report on their results to date. For progress reports, the time period for this report will the first 6 months of each grant (e.g. 1 January - 30 June of the current year). For impact reports, the time period for this report will be the full 12 months of this grant, including the period already reported on in the progress report (e.g. 1 January - 31 December of the current year).
Localisation experiences in Kannada and Tulu Wikipedias — by U.B.Pavanaja — last modified Oct 06, 2016 01:51 AM: It has become a fashion to talk about the digital divide in India. These talks are going on for more than 2 decades now. Nevertheless there is no doubt about the need of taking the benefits of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for common man.
Delhi High Court’s Ruling Against Publishers is a Triumph For Knowledge — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Sep 26, 2016 03:07 PM: The court conclusively stated that the reproduction of any work by a teacher or a pupil in the course of instruction would not constitute infringement.
Another 5 Years: What Have We Learned about the Wikipedia Gender Gap and What Has Been Done? (Part 3.) — by Ting-Yi Chang — last modified Sep 22, 2016 07:54 AM: Five years after Wikimedia Foundation’s 2011 editor survey was conducted and revealed the gender gap issue, scholars, practitioners, and communities around the globe have come a long way to address the gender imbalance of the online encyclopedia. This blog post series (of three parts) serve as a summary of movements and discoveries in Wikipedia gender gap narrowing on both local (India) and global scales.
Another 5 Years: What Have We Learned about the Wikipedia Gender Gap and What Has Been Done? (Part 2) — by Ting-Yi Chang — last modified Sep 22, 2016 07:55 AM: Five years after Wikimedia Foundation’s 2011 editor survey was conducted and revealed the gender gap issue, scholars, practitioners, and communities around the globe have come a long way to address the gender imbalance of the online encyclopedia. This blog post series (of three parts) serve as a summary of movements and discoveries about Wikipedia gender gap on both local (India) and global scales.
Another 5 Years: What Have We Learned about the Wikipedia Gender Gap and What Has Been Done? (Part 1) — by Ting-Yi Chang — last modified Sep 21, 2016 10:13 AM: Five years after Wikimedia Foundation’s 2011 editor survey was conducted and revealed the gender gap issue, scholars, practitioners, and communities around the globe have come a long way to address the gender imbalance of the online encyclopedia. This blog post series (of three parts) serve as a summary of movements and discoveries about Wikipedia gender gap on both local (India) and global scales.
ଆମ ହାତେ ଆମ କୋଡ୍ ଲେଖିବା — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Sep 17, 2016 04:04 PM: I authored a column on writing our code in our own hands for the editorial of Odia-language daily the "Samaja". The piece is about the philosophy of software freedom and how free and open source software is making a significant difference in our lives. I have also shared a little bit about how anyone can celebrate the Software Freedom Day today by contributing to and sharing about to FOSS.
Methodology: Statements of Working (Form 27) of Indian Mobile Device Patents — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Sep 10, 2017 03:19 PM: In India, if a patent is not locally worked within three years of its issuance, any person may request a compulsory license, and if the patent is not adequately worked within two years of the grant of such a compulsory license, it may be revoked. In order to provide the public with information about patent working, India requires every patentee to file an annual statement on “Form 27” describing the working of each of its issued Indian patents. We conducted the first comprehensive and systematic study of all Forms 27 filed with respect to mobile devices. We tried to empirically establish the extent to which patentees and licensees comply with the statutory requirement to declare information about the working of their patents. Research assistance was provided by interns Anna Liz Thomas and Nayana Dasgupta.
Where is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Headed? — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Sep 17, 2016 02:15 PM: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – the Asian answer to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is still being furiously scripted.
Making Telugu Suitable for Internet — by Rahmanuddin Shaikh — last modified Sep 06, 2016 02:21 PM: In brief, the article speaks of steps in making a language other than English suitable for Internet and computers, what input methods, fonts and content are available in Telugu as on date and what challenges are ahead in making language fully available on Internet and in computers.
Wikiwomen’s Meetup at St. Agnes College Explores Potentials and Plans of Women Editors in Mangalore, Karnataka — by Ting-Yi Chang — last modified Sep 01, 2016 02:39 PM: Karnataka is known for its diverse linguistic cultures. Aside from Kannada, many are native speakers of Konkani, Tulu, and other languages. A small Wikiwomen's meetup was held on Saturday, August 27th at St. Agnes College, Mangalore, to invite female Wikipedians from the region. Many of them were new to the online encyclopedia but demonstrated strong interest in learning and contributing more Indic language content online.
3 Copyright Tips for Students and Educators — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Oct 07, 2016 12:42 AM: Copyright is a really complicated topic, and when it comes to online use of creative works, accidentally crossing the line between fair use and a copyright violation is easy. How do you know what is copyrighted? Recently Frederico Morando (Creative Commons, Italy) and I presented a training session on understanding copyright policies at Wikimania 2016, which was originally proposed by Wikipedian User:Jim Carter. We covered topics such as fundamentals of copyright, exclusive rights, Berne convention, copyleft, Creative Commons licenses, Public Domain, fair use, and copyfraud.
Meet the Newly Born Tulu Wikipedia, the 23rd in a South Asian Language! — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Aug 30, 2016 02:14 AM: The Tulu language Wikipedia became the latest entrant in the family of 294 world-language Wikipedia projects after the project went live from Wikimedia Incubator earlier this month.
Community Digest: Tulu Wikipedia Goes Live after Eight Years in Incubator; News in Brief — by Subhashish Panigrahi and Ting-Yi Chang — last modified Aug 26, 2016 03:21 PM: Eight years after being created in the Wikimedia Incubator, the Tulu-language Wikipedia is now live as the 23rd Indic language Wikipedia.
Preserving Languages and Cultures in India: The Birth of the Tulu Wikipedia — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Sep 07, 2016 03:35 PM: After eight years of effort and outreach, the Tulu language Wikipedia has gone live. Wikimedia contributors play a key role in preserving languages and cultures, and tools like the Wikimedia Incubator help new projects like the Tulu Wikipedia get started.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ପାଇଁ ଓସିଆର: ଛପା ଲେଖାର ଛବିରୁ ଡିଇଟାଲ ଲେଖା — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Aug 23, 2016 03:16 PM: Though not an open source solution, Google's OCR works really well for Odia and other Indian languages. My column in the Odia daily the Samaja that was published last Saturday briefs about how the OCR works and has a step-by-step process to use it. There is also a little bit of background of Tesseract-based OCR that Debayan Banerjee worked in the past and Nasim Ali from the Odia Wikimedia community is currently working.
WikiConference India 2016 Submission: Gender Gap in Indian Language Wikipedias – Projects, Outreach and Outcome — by U.B.Pavanaja — last modified Aug 17, 2016 02:43 AM: India is not much different from the global statistics when it comes to gender gap issues in Wikipedia. Indian language Wikipedias are known to have similar ratio of male to female editors.
WikiConference India 2016 Submission: We, Men, Women: Collective Learning in Bridging Indic Wikipedia Gender Gaps — by Elisachang — last modified Aug 17, 2016 02:37 AM: There is no denying that non-English Wikipedias are disproportionally underrepresented in scholarly focus despite the significant role of an open knowledge society can play in smaller linguistic groups – local collaboration and communication, knowledge dissemination, as well as preservation of local language resources.
WikiConference India 2016 Submission: How to better tell your Wikimedia Community Story using Media as a Tool — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Aug 17, 2016 02:24 AM: The Wikimedia community has constantly struggled to a) reach out to masses and tell them about their contribution, and motivate people to contribute to the Wikimedia projects. Media plays a very important role in spreading the word about Wikimedia projects and the contributor community, and at times, encouraging the audience to contribute.
US Copyright law faces constitutional challenge — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Aug 11, 2016 01:28 PM: In a major international development, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a lawsuit to strike down the provisions on Digital Rights Management(DRM) in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In this post, I discuss DRMs, the EFF lawsuit, and then draw upon the differences between the US and Indian copyright regime on DRM protection.
South Asia's Largest Wikimedia Conference Kicks Off in India — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Aug 08, 2016 01:39 AM: Wiki Conference India 2016, the largest gathering of the contributors of Wikipedia (the multilingual online encyclopaedia) and its sister projects called Wikimedia projects, begins August 5 in Landran, in the Indian state of Punjab.
Community digest: Konkani language speakers are separated by scripts but unite by Wikipedia; news in brief — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Aug 07, 2016 03:11 AM: Konkani-language Wikipedians on what they think of Wikipedia as a binding factor for native speakers who speak in different variations of the same language and write in different scripts.
The largest Wikipedia gathering in South Asia kicks off — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Aug 06, 2016 05:11 PM: Wikimedia Conference 2016Wiki Conference India 2016 (WCI), the largest gathering of contributors to Wikipedia and its sister projects in South Asia, will be held during August 5-7 this year in Chandigarh, India.
USTR elaborates the Two Dozen Digital Rules of Club TPP — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jul 29, 2016 08:00 AM: Members of the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are now scrounging the world to include more countries in its fold. The Digital 2 Dozen(D2D) is a bite-sized document which packs the TPP into 24 key tenets. The D2D, aggressively championed by the US as the path forward for the global digital economy poses some critical questions for India: first, how will India position itself against US pressure in the larger scheme of US-India foreign relations, and how much is it willing to concede its policies in the name of trade; second, how will reduced barriers and establishment of a level field for Indian and foreign IT and internet companies alike, hurt Indian consumers and businesses? This week, the Deputy US Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Holleyman discussed the Digital 2 Dozen document with Ambassador Shyam Saran (Chairman, RIS). The exchange was moderated by Samir Saran (Observer Research Foundation). I attended the discussion and this post is a summary of the key points.
Letter to MPs on Concerns on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jul 29, 2016 02:39 AM: The Centre for Internet and Society sent a letter to Members of Parliament on July 27, 2016 to appeal to re-examine the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Sub$-100 Phones: Browser Compatibility Tests — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Feb 16, 2017 04:47 PM: This post documents the results of browser compatibility tests conducted on six out of eight specimen mobile phones being studied under the Pervasive Technologies project. These phones are Internet-enabled and cost the equivalent of USD 100 or less in India. Rohini Lakshané and CIS volunteer Dhananjay Balan carried out the tests. Intern Shreshth Wadhwa provided assistance.
Community celebrates birthday of Odia Wikipedia and Odia Wiktionary — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jul 09, 2016 03:25 AM: This June, Odia Wikipedia turned 14 and Odia Wiktionary turned 11. Odia Wikimedia community member Chinmayee Mishra, CIS-A2K Programme Associate Sailesh Patnaik and I co-authored this blog in the Wikimedia Blog. The blog chronicles several major activities of the community and features quotes from many old and new community members.
Open source effort gives indigenous language an official typeface — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Aug 03, 2016 02:00 AM: Santali, an aboriginal South Asian language, has a brand new freely licensed font and set of cross-platform open source input tools on the way.
ತರಬೇತಿ ಮಾಡಲು ತರಬೇತಿಗೊಂಡಾಗ.... CIS-A2K TTT 2016 — by Dhanalakshmi K.T. — last modified Aug 03, 2016 01:19 AM: Dhanalakshmi, a student from St Agnes College, Mangaluru, who was a participant of TTT 2016 has blogged her experience at Train-the-Trainer 2016 event organized by the Centre for Internet & Society earlier this year.
Beyond Editor Count: Assessing Quality on Wikipedia — by Tejaswini Niranjana — last modified Jun 12, 2016 04:00 PM: Since Wikipedia is considered as the go-to source for different kinds of knowledge by anyone starting off in a particular field of study, and since Indian languages (IL) are often the default languages of the classroom in India, strengthening the quality of the material available on IL Wikipedias is certain to have widespread tangible and intangible impact.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ: ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ବିଶାଳତମ ଅନଲାଇନ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ଗଢ଼ିବାର ଅଭିଯାନ — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jun 09, 2016 11:58 AM: ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆକୁ ଆଜି ୧୪ ବର୍ଷ ପୂରିଲା । ଏ ଅବସରରେ ଏହି ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ ଓ ତାକୁ ଗଢୁଥିବା ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ଉଇକିଆଳିଙ୍କ ବାବଦରେ ଏକ ଆଲେଖ ।
ଅନଲାଇନ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ଗଢ଼ା — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jun 08, 2016 02:51 AM: I wrote this article in Samanya Kathan, an Odia-language portal on June 5, 2016. The article is about the journey of the Odia Wikipedia and was published on the day the contributor community was celebrating the 14th anniversary of the project.
Digital native: Control A, Backspace — by Nishant Shah — last modified Jun 05, 2016 02:25 AM: The rewriting of textbooks should not be compared to the collaborations on Wikipedia, which only goes by evidence.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ବିକାଶ — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jun 04, 2016 04:37 AM: The article on Odia Wikipedia was published in the Samaja on June 2, 2016.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ: ଏକ ଅଭିଯାନ — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jun 04, 2016 04:26 AM: The article which details Odia Wikipedia's 14 year-long journey was published in the Odia newspaper Suryaprava on June 3, 2016.
Tweak the Make in India Recipe — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Jun 04, 2016 04:02 AM: As an erstwhile journalist covering electronics technologies and IT a few years ago, I was privy to a litany of manufacturers' woes and their causes: Tangled tax laws and regulations, red tape, corruption, licence raj, unreliable infrastructure such as power and roads, and lack of skilled labour.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIT, Kanpur — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jun 04, 2016 03:35 AM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in IIT, Kanpur.
Celebrating 13 Years of the Kannada-language Wikipedia — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jun 18, 2016 04:20 PM: The Kannada-language Wikipedia celebrated its 13th anniversary on February 14 in Mangalore. To celebrate the journey of the project and the community, Kannada Wikipedians gathered at Saint Aloysius College, Mangaluru on May 14.
Modi’s New Intellectual Property Rights Policy Will Only Benefit Players with Deep Pockets — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 28, 2016 04:02 PM: The new policy fails to enact a balanced regime and instead is tilted in favour of rights-holders.
A four year, action-packed experience with Wikipedia — by Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Jun 18, 2016 04:20 PM: I consider myself to be an Odia Wikimedian. I contribute Odia knowledge (the predominant language of the Indian state of Odisha) to many Wikimedia projects, like Wikipedia and Wikisource, by writing articles and correcting mistakes in articles. I also contribute to Hindi and English Wikipedia articles.
ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ "ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ" ବିକାଶ ପାଇଁ ଏକାଠି ହେଲେ ପୁରୀର ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀ — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jun 18, 2016 04:21 PM: ସଂସ୍କୃତିର ସହର ପୁରୀରେ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀମାନେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷାକୁ ଅଧିକ ବ୍ୟବହାରଯୋଗ୍ୟ କରିବା ପାଇଁ ତଥା ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଅଧିକ ପଠନଯୋଗ୍ୟ ଲେଖାର ବିକାଶ ଲାଗି ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରିବା ଆରମ୍ଭ କରିଛନ୍ତି । ପୁରୀର ୫ଟି ଭିନ୍ନ ଭିନ୍ନ ଶିକ୍ଷାନୁଷ୍ଠାନର ପାଖାପାଖି ୧୨ ଜଣ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀ ନିୟମିତ ଭେଟି କର୍ମଶାଳା ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ବିଷୟରେ ତଥ୍ୟଭିତ୍ତିକ ଲେଖାମାନ ତିଆରି ଓ ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରୁଛନ୍ତି ।
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from NLSIU — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 27, 2016 04:15 PM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in the National Law School of India University.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from NLU, Jodhpur — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 26, 2016 02:03 AM: The author has analysed all the data received through which, the author seeks to trace the presence of unjustified underutilisation of funds by the aforementioned university as provided by the MHRD during the period of 2013-2014.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIT, Madras — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 24, 2016 05:12 PM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in IIT Madras.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIM, Bangalore — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 21, 2016 09:13 AM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in IIM, Bangalore.
Sectoral Innovation Councils on Intellectual Property Rights – RTI Requests + DIPP Responses — by Nehaa Chaudhari and Saahil Dama — last modified May 21, 2016 04:34 AM: CIS filed an RTI application on August 11, 2015, seeking information regarding the functioning of the Sectoral Innovation Council (SInC) on Intellectual Property Rights. This post documents the responses received.
Train-a-Wikipedian and policy discussion meetup in Hyderabad — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 28, 2017 10:06 AM: The first on-ground Train-a-Wikipedian and policy discussion meetup was conducted in Hyderabad on 15 May 2016. 14 editors from 5 Indian Wikimedia communities participated in this event.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIM, Ahmedabad — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 17, 2016 02:31 AM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in IIM, Ahmedabad.
Draft Law Would Prohibit Showing ‘Disputed Areas’ on Maps of India — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified May 15, 2016 01:05 PM: Maps that label geographic areas of conflict as “disputed” territories in India could put one behind bars for seven years with 1B Indian Rupees (US$15M) penalty if a recently proposed bill becomes law.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from Delhi University — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 15, 2016 12:18 PM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in Delhi University.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from NUJS — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 15, 2016 07:51 AM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from NALSAR — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 15, 2016 07:43 AM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in NALSAR.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIT, Kharagpur — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 15, 2016 06:19 AM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from JNU — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 15, 2016 03:43 AM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
Wikipedia’s 15th birthday inspires Bangla translators; Odia-language Women’s History Month edit-a-thons — by Nahid Sultan and Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Jun 09, 2016 12:10 PM: Bangla-language Wikipedians translated about 600 articles for their language’s Wikipedia; Odia-language Wikimedians hosted their second annual Women’s History Month edit-a-thon.
Indian Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Discussion Paper on Standard Essential Patents — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 10, 2016 03:23 PM: India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (“DIPP”) released in March, earlier this year, a discussion paper on standard essential patents and their availability on fair, reasonable and non discriminatory terms.
Indian English Wikipedian Nvvchar completes 1500 Did You Know articles — by Tito Dutta — last modified Jun 28, 2017 10:03 AM: Indian English Wikipedian Nvvchar has completed 1500 Did you know articles. This is the second highest on English Wikipedia.
Shape of IPRs and Agriculture post the WTO Nairobi Ministerial — by Anubha Sinha — last modified May 05, 2016 07:11 AM: CIS is running a series of meetups focused on intellectual property to bring folks interested in IP law to discuss developments in access to knowledge, climate change, health, trade, etc. At the first meet-up in February, Prof. Biswajit Dhar delivered a short talk on intellectual property rights and agriculture in a post-Nairobi Ministerial world. This post is a summary of his talk.
Comments on Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Discussion Paper on Standard Essential Patents and their Availability on Frand Terms — by Anubha Sinha, Nehaa Chaudhari and Rohini Lakshane — last modified May 03, 2016 02:30 AM: The Centre for Internet & Society gave its comments to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. The comments were prepared by Anubha Sinha, Nehaa Chaudhari and Rohini Lakshané.
National IPR Policy Series : Sectoral Innovation Councils on Intellectual Property Rights – RTI Requests + DIPP Responses — by Nehaa Chaudhari and Saahil Dama — last modified May 03, 2016 05:32 AM: CIS filed an RTI application on August 11, 2015, seeking information regarding the functioning of the Sectoral Innovation Council (SInC) on Intellectual Property Rights. This posts documents the responses received.
Eight Challenges Indian-Language Wikipedias Need to Overcome — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jun 18, 2016 05:09 PM: Even after a decade of existence, Indian language Wikipedias are not yet known to many Indian language speakers. Wikipedia, the largest available encyclopedia made in the human history, is what it is today because of the hundreds and thousands of volunteer editors.
CCI allowed to probe Ericsson: FAQs on Ericsson’s disputes with Micromax and Intex — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 01, 2016 01:46 PM: The blog post is an analysis of the recent decision of the Delhi High Court, clarifying that the Competition Commission of India could investigate Ericsson for a violation of competition law. A shorter version of this blog post was published in the Quint on April 30, 2016.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from Tezpur University — by Karan Tripathi — last modified Apr 26, 2016 04:27 PM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in Tezpur University. The author has analysed all the data received under various heads such as income, grants from MHRD, planned and non planned expenditure, nature and frequency of programmes organised and the allocation of funds for the same.
Summary of CIS Comments to DIPP’s Discussion Paper on SEPs and their availability on FRAND terms — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Apr 26, 2016 12:07 PM: This blog post summarises CIS’ responses to DIPP’s Discussion Paper on SEPs and their availability on FRAND terms. The response made specific recommendations regarding adequacy of Indian law to determine SEP litigation, remedies for FRAND assured SEPs, FRAND royalty rates, SSO’s policies, parties’ non-disclosure agreements and transparency, and essentiality of SEPs and their declassification.
Responses to the DIPP's Discussion Paper on SEPs and their Availability on FRAND Terms — by Anubha Sinha, Nehaa Chaudhari, and Rohini Lakshané — last modified Jul 07, 2016 04:24 PM: The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India, requested comments through its "Discussion Paper on Standard Essential Patents and Their Availability on FRAND Terms" on March 1, 2016. This post is a compilation of various comments submitted in response to it.
CIS - A2K Work Plan: July 2016 - June 2017 — by Sunil Abraham — last modified Apr 29, 2016 09:36 AM: One of the key mandates of the Access to Knowledge (A2K) program at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is to work towards catalyzing the growth of the free and open knowledge movement in Indic languages. CIS has been a steward of the Wikimedia movement in India since December 2008. Since September 2012, we at CIS-A2K, have been actively involved in growing the movement in India through (i) a grant received from the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) for the period September 2012 - June 2014, (ii) the FDC Grant received for the period July 2014 - June 2015 and (iii) the FDC Grant received for the period July 2015 - June 2016. Based on the productive experience of working with various Indic Wikimedia communities, CIS-A2K has developed this work plan for July 2016 to June 2017.
Dataset: Patent Landscape of Mobile Device Technologies in India — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified May 03, 2016 08:06 PM: Patent landscape of mobile technology patents and patent applications held by 50 companies operating in India. Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Global Congress 2015 - A Collection of Resources — by Nisha S Kumar — last modified May 03, 2016 02:24 AM: The 4th edition of the Global Congress 2015 was organized at the National Law School of India University in New Delhi from 15 - 17 December 2015. The largest ever in Asia, the Global Congress was jointly organized by the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) in association with National Law University, Delhi, Open A.I.R., CREATe, Columbia University and American University.
Patents and Mobile Devices in India: An Empirical Survey — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Mar 29, 2017 04:03 AM: Though India has the second-largest wireless subscriber base in the world, with more than 150 mobile device vendors, it has, until recently, remained relatively unaffected by the global smartphone wars. Over the past three years, however, a growing number of patent enforcement actions have been brought by multinational firms against domestic Indian producers. These actions, which have largely resulted in judgments favoring foreign patent holders, have given rise to a variety of proposals for addressing this situation.
8 Challenges In Growing Indian-Language Wikipedias — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Jun 18, 2016 05:11 PM: While speaking at BHASHA: Indian Languages Digital Festival, a day-long discourse at New Delhi on Indian languages and their state in new media, especially digital platforms, I touched upon Wikipedia in Indian languages. Most people, in fact, do not even know that Wikipedia exists in many Indian languages.
Eight Challenges That Indian-Language Wikipedias Need to Overcome — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Mar 29, 2016 05:05 PM: Even after a decade of existence, Indian language Wikipedias are not yet known to many Indian language speakers. Wikipedia, being the largest available encyclopedia made in the human history, it what it is today because of the hundreds and thousands of volunteer-editors. But while native-language Wikipedias are becoming game-changers in other corners of the world, the scenario in India is skewed. In my experience, here are a number of challenges that Indian-language Wikipedias are currently facing.
8 Challenges for Improving Indian Language Wikipedias — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Mar 29, 2016 05:05 PM: After more than 10 years in existence, the Indian-language Wikipedias still are not known to many Indian language speakers. Wikipedia became the largest encyclopedia in history as a result of thousands of volunteer editors.
Report of the 30th Session of the WIPO SCCR by the Centre for Internet & Society — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Apr 04, 2016 02:39 PM: This report was edited by Nehaa Chaudhari, Programme Officer; compiled with assistance from Nisha S.K., Administrator, and, Aarushi Bansal, Amulya P., and Saahil Dama, interns.
Fueling the Affordable Smartphone Revolution in India — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Mar 16, 2016 03:23 PM: Smartphones have emerged as the exemplar of mankind's quest for shrinking technologies. They embody the realization of a simple premise – that computing devices would do more and cost less. This realization has been responsible for modern society's profound transformations in communication, governance, and knowledge distribution.
ಅಂತರ್ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಹಿಳಾ ದಿನಾಚರಣೆ ೨೦೧೬, ಕ್ರೈಸ್ಟ್ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ — by Prashasti — last modified Jul 03, 2016 12:04 PM: ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೮ ನ್ನು ವಿಶ್ವಾದ್ಯಂತ ಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಹಿಳಾ ದಿನ ಎಂದು ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿಶ್ವದ ಹಲವು ಕಡೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ಹಮ್ಮಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಇದನ್ನು ಒಂದು ತಿಂಗಳ ಪೂರ್ತಿ ನಡೆಯುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನಾಗಿ ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲೂ ಈ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಭಾಷೆಯ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯವೂ ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ.
Can Wikipedia revive dying Indian languages? — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Feb 29, 2016 02:54 PM: Yes, by encouraging content and involvement, Wikipedia language communities keep languages relevant.
Looking ahead to the future of the Kannada Wikipedia: Vasanth S.N. — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Feb 29, 2016 02:15 PM: Vasanth S.N. has edited the Kannada-langauge Wikipedia since 2006. As part of the WikipediansSpeak series, I caught up with Vasanth to learn about his contributions to the Kannada Wikipedia, which just celebrated its 13th anniversary. In the discussion Vasanth shares his long time involvement in the Wikimedia movement, and what drives him every day to edit Wikipedia and helping other fellow Wikimedians.
Community Digest—Estonians working on a new feedback system for Wikipedia articles — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Feb 27, 2016 06:30 AM: Community digest is a weekly publication on Wikimedia Blog. This week, I have authored a section on the Kannada Wikipedia's 13th anniversary that is being celebrated today. It includes a small section from a longer interview with Kannada Wikipedian Vasanth S.N. The two blogs on creating Odia-language character encoding converters I had written before in the Huffington Post and the DNA are also featured in the digest.
Cultural institution AKA GLAM for more OER — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Feb 27, 2016 06:00 AM: My submission titled "Cultural institution AKA GLAM for more OER" under the theme of "Innovative approaches to opening up cultural heritage collections for education" has been selected for the OER16 conference to be held in Edinburg, Scotland from 19 to 20 April 2016.
କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟର ଯୁଗରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷା — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Mar 14, 2016 07:27 AM: In 2013, the Centre for Internet and Society commissioned a project to create a typeface and input methods for for Ol chiki script that is used to write in the Santali language. Santali is one of the many victims that has large number of native language speakers but really low activism to preserve the language though it is not yet among the 196 endangered languages as identified by UNESCO.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷା ପାଇଁ ଏକ ଅନୁଶୀଳନ — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Feb 27, 2016 04:28 AM: On the day of the International Mother Language Day, it is important to look outside and draw inspirations from several success stories of digital activism for languages. Hebrew, an ancient language that was almost dead for over 1500 years was revived from ashes like phoenix. Even after being honoured with the classical language status in the same category of Sanskrit and Tamil, Odia has not seen much progress in the digital sphere.
ମାତୃଭାଷା ଦିବସ: ଆଜିର ସମସ୍ୟା ଓ ଆହ୍ୱାନ — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Feb 26, 2016 04:52 PM: The article was published in the editorial section of Odia newspaper the Sambad on February 21, 2016. This piece explains about the challenges of expanding a knowledge base in Odia language and helping it grow beyond just the literature and to a language of knowledge.
Standard Essential Patents on Low-Cost Mobile Phones in India: A Case to Strengthen Competition Regulation? — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Apr 24, 2016 04:42 AM: The realization of the promise of the sub hundred dollar mobile device as a facilitator of access to knowledge is contingent inter alia on its availability in the market place. In turn, the market availability of the sub hundred dollar mobile device is influenced by the existence of an enabling environment for producers to produce, and consumers to consume. From a regulatory perspective, the enabling environment itself is a function of existing laws and policies, and the ‘developmental effects’ of certain laws and policies (Saraswati, 2012).
The new Guidelines for Computer Related Inventions are a big win for FOSS in India! — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Feb 24, 2016 06:30 AM: India is one of the few countries which permits patenting of software – a monopolization that has only benefited established corporations and largely throttled innovation in the software industry, worldwide. CIS has consistently advocated against patentablity of software and in a major victory last week, software patenting in India died a little more. This happened via the newly issued Guidelines for the Examination of Computer Related Inventions, which introduces a new test to restrict software patenting – in essence the same legal test that CIS had been proposing since 2010. This post highlights the new test and other noteworthy changes in the Guidelines.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIT, Bombay — by Karan Tripathi — last modified Feb 22, 2016 02:34 PM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in IIT Bombay.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIT, Delhi — by Karan Tripathi — last modified Feb 22, 2016 02:46 AM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in IIT Delhi.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from Cochin University of Science and Technology — by Karan Tripathi — last modified Feb 21, 2016 04:09 PM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in Cochin University of Science and Technology.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from University of Madras — by Karan Tripathi — last modified Feb 19, 2016 03:34 PM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in University of Madras. The author has analysed all the data received under various heads such as income, grants from MHRD, planned and non planned expenditure, nature and frequency of programmes organised and the allocation of funds for the same. Throughout the course of observation and presentation of the analysed data, the author seeks to trace the presence of unjustified underutilisation of funds by the aforementioned university as provided by the MHRD during the period of 2001-2014.
This little innovation is bringing a revolution in the Odia language — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Feb 27, 2016 07:33 AM: Depicting human language within computing environments has always been a challenge: a given language's script and alphabet needs to be mapped to a coding system that a computer can process digitally. This is done by way of an encoding system that basically maps each character to a unique numeric code.
WikipediansSpeak: Odia Wikisourcer Shares her Journey and Goals — by Subhashish Panigrahi and Nasim Ali — last modified Feb 05, 2016 08:49 PM: The most active editor on the Odia Wikisource is Pankajmala Sarangi, a native of Odisha who now lives in New Delhi, where she works at a non-profit. As a leader in a broad community that is dominated by males—indeed, she is the most active contributor to the Odia-language Wikisource—we asked her to share her journey and her goals to grow the project and community as part of the “WikipediansSpeWell, I think I would work on creating a database of all the Odia speakers living in New Delhi and the city organizations that work in propagating Odia language and culture, and plan Wikisource outreach programs for them.k” interview series.
CIS' submission to Indian Patent Office on Examples of Excluded Patentable subject-matter under Section 3(k) for incorporation in the yet-to-be-released Guidelines for Computer Related Inventions — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Feb 22, 2016 09:36 AM: The Patent Office had put the Guidelines on Computer Related Inventions, 2015 in abeyance last month. This step was taken after several stakeholders including CIS made representations to the Office about serious substantive legal issues in the document. In furtherance of the consultative process, a meeting was conducted in Mumbai with various stakeholders, chaired by the Controller General of Patents Design Trademarks (“CGPTDM”). Anubha Sinha participated in the meeting, after which the CGPTDM invited submissions from stakeholders on specific examples on exclusions from patentability under section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970, for possible incorporation in the Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions.
This Multilingual Edit-a-thon wants to Improve Indian Content on Wikipedia — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jan 28, 2016 07:23 AM: Ever wondered how many articles the Kannada Wikipedia or the Hindi Wikipedia have relating to India, its social history, literary and cultural heritage and the journey of over 1600 languages?
କେତେ ମାଗଣା ଫେସବୁକର ଫ୍ରି ବେସିକ୍ସ? — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jan 28, 2016 07:23 AM: This opinion piece in Odia on Facebook's Free Basics App was published in Odisha.com. The post highlights several user security and privacy that Free Basics is violating apart from violating net neutrality. It also brings the parallel of Airtel Zero and Free Basics with the Grameenphone project by Mozilla in Bangladesh and the worldwide Wikipedia Zero projects.
ବ୍ୟବହାରୀଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ନିରାପତ୍ତା ଓ ଗୋପନୀୟତାର କୋକୁଆ ଆଣିବ ଫେସବୁକର ଫ୍ରି ବେସିକ୍ସ — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jan 28, 2016 07:24 AM: This opinion piece in Odia on Facebook's Free Basics App was published in Your Story. The post highlights several user security and privacy that Free Basics is violating apart from violating net neutrality. It also brings the parallel of Airtel Zero and Free Basics with the Grameenphone project by Mozilla in Bangladesh and the worldwide Wikipedia Zero projects.
Why It's Essential To Grow Indian-Language Wikipedias — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified May 28, 2016 06:52 AM: On 15 January, Wikipedia, the free online encyclopaedia celebrated its 15th birthday, meeting this milestone with 36 million articles in more than 290 languages (the English-language Wikipedia alone has crossed the 5-million article mark). But here I want to address some major questions that we need to ask as Indians.
Pervasive Technologies Project Presentations at the 4th Global Congress, 2015 — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jan 21, 2016 04:33 PM: These are the presentations made by the members of the PT Project team at the 4th Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest, 2015 at National Law University, New Delhi.
The two-faced FRAND: Licensing and injunctive relief in ICTs — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Mar 16, 2016 02:37 AM: Important takeaways from the Indo-Europe Conference on Building a Sustainable IPR-ICT Ecosystem for Promoting Innovation, held in Bangalore in November 2015. Ericsson and the Indian Cellular Association presented an interesting set of views on FRAND licensing as well as injunctive relief, from seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷା ପାଇଁ କିଛି ଅନ୍ତର୍ଜାତୀୟ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jun 18, 2016 04:24 PM: With more free and open software coming in, more people are coming together and collaborating. The ownership of various projects are coming from bigger corporations to the hands of people. It is essential to learn about the global, collaborative and multilingual projects in our language so that it come out of the four walls of literature and become the language of economy and knowledge. In this piece, I have discussed about three open knowledge projects Odia Wikipedia, Odia Wikisource and Global Voices Odia, how they work and how anyone can contribute in these projects.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପାଠାଗାର: ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଡିଜିଟାଲ ପାଠାଗାର ଆନ୍ଦୋଳନର ନୂଆ ମୁହଁ — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jan 28, 2016 07:25 AM: Many would be searching for Odia-language books on the internet. Many would feel like correcting typos and other mistakes when found while reading a book, even online. Odia Wikisource is as a platform all those book lovers who want to read Odia books online and want to make more books available online.
କେତେ ମାଗଣା "ଫ୍ରି ବେସିକ୍ସ — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jan 30, 2016 11:05 AM: This op-ed was published in Odia newspaper "The Samaja" on January 4, 2016. Sunil Abraham and Pranesh Prakash were quoted.
Report of Konkani Wikipedia's progress (July-December 2015) — by Rahmanuddin Shaikh — last modified Feb 05, 2016 02:49 AM: Konkani language is one of the 22 languages recognized by Indian union in 8th schedule. As per the 2007 census there are about 7.4 million Konkani speakers.[1] Konkani language has its own Wikipedia created on 15th June 2015. This blog post will try to put out Konkani Wikipedia's growth from a perspective based on Wikimedia stats.
Odia Wikipedia progress from July to December, 2015 — by Rahmanuddin Shaikh — last modified Feb 05, 2016 02:45 AM: Odia Wikipedia, one of the very active Wikipedias in Indian languages has been showing a negative rate of growth for the last 6 months. We will try to analyse, what has been happening and how can that be improved.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପାଠାଗାର — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jan 05, 2016 06:30 AM: Odia newspaper Sambad carried this featured column of mine yesterday in their Sunday supplement "Sambada Rabibara" on December 6, 2015.
4th Global Congress on IP and the Public Interest: Statement of Conclusion for the IP and Development track — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Dec 25, 2015 02:22 AM: The 4th Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest was held from December 15 to 17, 2015 in New Delhi. This post provides a summary of the event.
Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions in abeyance — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Dec 23, 2015 10:06 AM: The CRI Guidelines were heavily criticised for their failure to address the ambiguities created by Section 3(k) and for expanding the scope of software patent eligibile subject-matter, inter alia. Following several representations and submissions by interested stakeholders, the Controller General has moved the Guidelines into abeyance, until discussions with stakeholders are complete and contentious issues are resolved, and is a welcome step.
GCIP15 Day 2: Fixing the problems in Trade Negotiations — by Kartik Chawla — last modified Dec 17, 2015 04:37 PM: This post documents the interesting discussions that took place in the Trade Negotiations Panel at day 2 of the GCIP 2015.
GCIP Day 1 Session 3: Challenges in Re-Articulating Public Interest — by Spadika Jayaraj — last modified Dec 17, 2015 04:13 PM: At the third plenary session of GCIP15, the discussion revolved around challenges in re-articulating ‘public interest’ dimension in IP law and policy.
GCIP 15 Day 2: Discussions on Health Technology, Innovation and Access — by Spadika Jayaraj — last modified Dec 17, 2015 04:08 PM: The Global Congress is a confluence of academics, policy advocates and activists working in the sphere of IP and Public Interest.
GCIP2015: Notes from the Inaugural Session — by Spadika Jayaraj — last modified Dec 17, 2015 03:54 PM: The 2015 Global Congress on IP and the Public Interest kicked off with its inaugural plenary session, on 14th December, 2015. With over 400 registered participants, ranging from established academics to activists to students gathered in the auditorium in National Law University, Delhi, Phet Sayo, a Senior Fellow at IDRC and a panelist at the session rightly observed that if a bomb were to go off at this venue, "there goes IP activism".
Press Release: Users’ rights and interests should be balanced with those of IP rights-holders: Global Congress — by Geetha Hariharan — last modified Dec 17, 2015 08:40 AM: The Global Congress on Intellectual Property and Public Interest is being held at the National Law University, Delhi, on 15-17 December 2015. The global event is jointly organized by CIS, NLU Delhi, Open A.I.R., CREATe, Columbia University and American University. Below is the Press Release from Day 2 of the Global Congress.
Press Release: Medicines should not bankrupt patients or public health systems: Access to medicines at the Global Congress — by Geetha Hariharan — last modified Dec 17, 2015 08:33 AM: The Global Congress on Intellectual Property and Public Interest is being held at the National Law University, Delhi, on 15-17 December 2015. The global event is jointly organized by CIS, NLU Delhi, Open A.I.R., CREATe, Columbia University and American University. Below is the Press Release from Day 1 of the Global Congress.
Leading Up To The GCIP: A Chat With Jayashree Watal — by Job Michael Mathew — last modified Jan 31, 2016 09:00 AM: The fifth discussion in our pre-GCIP discussion series is with Jayashree Watal.
Press Release: India to Host 4th Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest — by Geetha Hariharan — last modified Dec 14, 2015 09:21 AM: The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is happy to announce that 4th edition of the Global Congress will be held at the National Law University, New Delhi (NLU-D) on 15-17 December 2015. The Congress is jointly organised by CIS, NLU-D, Open A.I.R., CREATe, Columbia University and American University.
Leading Up To The GCIP: A Chat With Shamnad Basheer — by Job Michael Mathew — last modified Jan 31, 2016 08:57 AM: The next discussion in our pre-GCIP discussion series is with Prof. Shamnad Basheer.
Leading Up To The GCIP: A Chat With Michael Geist — by Job Michael Mathew — last modified Jan 31, 2016 05:37 AM: Continuing the lead-up to the GCIP, the following discussion is with Dr. Michael Geist.
Leading Up To The GCIP: A Chat With Zakir Thomas — by Job Michael Mathew — last modified Jan 30, 2016 10:54 AM: With only a few more days to go for the 4th Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest 2015 (“Congress”), we will be putting out a number of blog posts as a precursor of things to come. In this first series, Job Michael Mathew approaches some of our keynote speakers for their thoughts on their work areas and contemporary developments in their fields.
Leading Up To The GCIP: A Chat With Susan K. Sell — by Job Michael Mathew — last modified Jan 31, 2016 08:36 AM: After Mr. Zakir Thomas and Dr. Michael Geist, our third discussion is with Prof. Susan K. Sell.
Intellectual Property Rights & TRIPS: An Overview — by Job Michael Mathew — last modified Jan 31, 2016 05:54 AM: The Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff began in 1986 with a Ministerial Deceleration in Punta del Este.
Abuse of Dominant Position in Indian Competition Law: A Brief Guide — by Sarthak Sood — last modified Dec 09, 2015 01:20 PM: Every car owner would give a knowing nod when spoken to about the struggle of finding reasonably priced spare parts for their cars. While original parts can only be found at limited dealerships (which would invariably be miles away from home), once found, a small block of plastic would be worth a proverbial fortune.
TTT 2015 — by Tanveer Hasan — last modified Dec 15, 2015 07:36 AM: The Centre for Internet & Society's Access to Knowledge team (CIS-A2K) conducted a four day training workshop for Wikimedians all over India in order to facilitate conducting and organising outreach activities for promotion of Wikimedia activities within Indian language communities. Wikimedians from 21 language communities had participated in this training workshop including Wikipedians working for Nepali and Maithili Wikipedia.
Touch Point Report: Department of Tourism Studies, Christ University and St. Aloysius College, Managalore — by Tanveer Hasan — last modified Dec 15, 2015 07:37 AM: CIS-A2K conducts Wikipedia in Education programme at St. Aloysius colege, Mangalore. This partnership is unique as it provides to us a pool of editors for three Wikimedia projects, i.e: Kannada, Tulu and Konkani.
Analysis of Institutional Partnerships: University of Mysore and Guru G Learning Labs — by Tanveer Hasan — last modified Dec 15, 2015 07:39 AM: University of Mysore considered to be one of the most prestigious institutions in the country has been famous for its innovative pedagogic techniques and opening up for students various avenues of knowledge acquisition.
Community Prioritisation of Content Donation: Kannada Wikisource — by Tanveer Hasan — last modified Dec 15, 2015 07:42 AM: CIS-A2K has initiated a community consultation in order to prioritise and streamline the work on Wikisource projects across FLA. Due to the commitment of volunteers from the respective FLA and the institutional partnerships that A2K has developed we have been able to bring a large corpus of content under free licence into our Wikisource projects. CIS-A2K promotes both content donation and content acquisition strategies in order to bring in free licence content.
30 Books of Odia Author and Historian Jagannath Prasad Das to Come Online on Odia Wikisource — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jan 03, 2016 11:19 AM
Guru-G Learning Labs and CIS A2K Institutional Partnership — by Tanveer Hasan — last modified Dec 15, 2015 07:52 AM: Incorporated in 2013, Guru-G is the world’s first gamified platform for teaching and teacher training.
Open access in the Marathi language expands by a thousand books — by Subhashish Panigrahi and Abhinav Garule — last modified Jan 03, 2016 11:26 AM: As the Maharashtra Granthottejak Sanstha (MGS) celebrated its 121st anniversary recently, the organization re-licensed 1000 books under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license so that the books could be digitized and be made available on the Marathi Wikisource for millions of Marathi readers.
ORF India-UK Technology Partnership Conference — by Karan Tripathi — last modified Dec 01, 2015 02:27 AM: As the consequence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much anticipated visit to the United Kingdom, representatives from stakeholder groups such as government and industry came together at Observers Research Foundation, Delhi, to deliberate upon various facets of India-UK Technology Partnership.
Guerrilla GLAMː An alternate way of doing GLAM in indie-way — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Dec 16, 2015 03:09 AM: I have been working on a concept called the Guerrilla GLAM. Here is a very quick summary about the concept that was published in the GLAM-wiki newsletter for November.
National IPR Policy: Mapping the Stakeholders’ Response — by Akshath Mithal — last modified Nov 24, 2015 03:02 PM: The first draft of the National IPR Policy was released last December. Following that, a plethora of comments and suggestions was submitted to the DIPP on the same. In this post, I will focus on the comments that were available online and analyse the trends that I was able to find in the same and also highlight the many suggestions put forth by the stakeholders.
The Procedure of CCI in cases of Anti-Competitive Agreements and Abuse of Dominant Position: A Flow-Chart — by Sarthak Sood — last modified Nov 24, 2015 01:59 PM: The Competition Act, 2002 defines and prohibits two things- Anti-Competitive Agreements, and Abuse of Dominant Position. The cases under the Competition Act are adjudicated upon by a special tribunal called the Competition Commission of India. As with any judicial or quasi-judicial authority, the Commission is bound by certain procedures to give effect to its duties. The following flow-chart, then, explains such procedures as followed by the CCI in adjudicating upon matters concerning anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position.
A Study of J. Sai Deepak's Comments on Competition Law in India — by Aarushi Bansal — last modified Nov 21, 2015 06:18 AM: In his blog, 'The Demanding Mistress', J. Sai Deepak has commented on the competition law in India, using provisions of different acts, case judgments and amendments to these acts. He has also included a comment on India’s patent law. This review studies his comments to the Competition Act, 2002 (“Competition Act”) and the Patents Act, 1970 (“Patents Act”).
Ministry Clearances for the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest 2015 — by Swaraj Barooah — last modified Nov 21, 2015 07:16 AM: This is to declare and share the clearances received from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs for the organisation of the fourth Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest during December 15-17 in Delhi.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIT Roorkee — by Karan Tripathi and Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Nov 21, 2015 07:26 AM: This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in IIT Roorkee.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପାଠାଗାରର ଆବଶ୍ୟକତା (Need for an Odia-language Wikisource) — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Dec 15, 2015 08:21 AM: This post is about the Odia library movement and the conventional archival, touch-bases on the problems with dissemination of knowledge with more public domain books that are entering into the "rare and perishing" category, a comparative study of the conventional and new medium--like Wikisource--for book archival. It sheds light on how Wikisource functions as a collaborative platform in engaging with readers for digitizing books that are yet to be digitized.
Odia Wikisource to Celebrate Its First Anniversary in Bhubaneswar — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Dec 15, 2015 08:19 AM: Odia Wikisource, a sister project of Odia Wikipedia and a free online Odia-language library is celebrating its first anniversary in Bhubaneswar tomorrow i.e., 25th October, 2015.
National IPR Policy Series: Quick Observations on the Leaked Draft of the National IPR Policy — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Nov 19, 2015 05:13 AM: Earlier this week, the “Don’t Trade Our Lives Away” blog leaked the supposed final draft of India’s National IPR Policy (“leaked draft”). This article presents quick comments on this leaked draft.
Comparison of National IPR Strategy September 2012, National IPR Strategy July 2014 and Draft National IP Policy, December 2014 — by Amulya Purushothama — last modified Mar 08, 2016 01:49 AM: This is an analysis of the first draft of India's National IPR Policy with an earlier document "India's National IPR Strategy".
CIS-India Projects: Overlaps with Digital India — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Oct 11, 2015 05:19 AM: This post documents the overlap of CIS India's work with the nine pillars of the Digital India campaign. The list reflects work completed/underway as of September 2015.
WikipediansSpeak: Telugu Language Library Catalog Project Helps Wikipedia Grow — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Dec 15, 2015 08:06 AM: In 2013, the interview project “WikipediansSpeak” was launched in response to observations that many noteworthy Wikimedians were being underrepresented both locally and globally. Not just them personally—their work, and the communities they represent, were also unknown to the Wikimedia community and the outside world.
Pervasive Technologies: Working Document Series – Updated Research Methodology – Applying the Actor Network Theory to Competition Law and Standard Essential Patent Litigation in India — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Oct 04, 2015 04:20 AM: This document lays out the updated research methodology for the paper on competition law issues around standard essential patent litigation in India.
Wikimedia contributor shares his Linux story — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jun 18, 2016 05:08 PM: Computers have fascinated me since childhood, but my first encounter—like many others—was not with Linux. For me, it was with Microsoft Paint. Then, many years later in 2011, it was my Wikipedia mentor, Shiju Alex, who introduced me to Linux. Since then, it's been my life!
Google's Optical Character Recognition Software Now Works with All South Asian Languages — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Sep 26, 2015 02:31 PM: The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software by Google now works for more than 248 world languages, including all the major South Asian languages, and it's easy to use and works with over 90 percent accuracy for most languages.
As Odia Wikipedia turns 13, what happens next? — by Subhashish Panigrahi and Sailesh Patnaik — last modified Jun 18, 2016 05:08 PM: Odia Wikipedia, one of several Indian-language Wikipedia projects, celebrated thirteen years of free knowledge contribution on June 3.
OCR and OER – update — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Jun 18, 2016 05:09 PM: We welcome this short posting from Subhashish Panigrahi which updates a 2014 posting of his on Indic Language Wikipedias as Open Educational Resources at http://education.okfn.org/indic-language-wikipedias-as-open-educational-resources/
FAQ: CIS' Proposal for Compulsory Licensing of Critical Mobile Technologies — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Feb 14, 2016 04:40 AM: Earlier this year, the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) had proposed that the Government of India (GoI) initiate the formation of a patent pool of critical mobile technologies and mandate a five percent compulsory license. The proposal was made in light of ongoing litigation in India over standard essential patents pertaining to mobile technology, and the government's own “Make in India” and “Digital India” programmes.
Open Letter to PM Modi on Intellectual Property Rights issues on His Visit to the United States of America in September, 2015 — by Pranesh Prakash and Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Sep 25, 2015 06:43 AM: This is an open letter by CIS to the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in light of his impending visit to the USA. This letter asks the Prime Minister to urge the USA to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty; and asks that India not be a party to TPP negotiations, in light of recent reports on a study encouraging India to join the TPP.
Comments on the Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions (CRIs) — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Oct 27, 2015 02:46 PM: Recently, the Indian Patents Office released the Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions (“2015 Guidelines/ Guidelines”) in an attempt to clarify examination of software related patents in India. This post is a pure analysis of the 2015 Guidelines. The new Guidelines, essentially, narrow the exclusions of secttion 3(k), thereby enlarging the scope of software related applications eligible for a patent grant. More alarmingly, there is low emphasis on the application of the subject matter test, increased ambiguity on the nature of subject matter and an exclusionary list of examples appended to the document. In the following post, CIS highlights these concerns and presents solutions, and also proposes a definition of "computer programme per se". Read on to understand how the new guidelines will potentially lead to an increase in software patenting activity by expanding the scope of patentable subject matter – in negation of the legislative intent of section 3(k) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970.
Transformaking 2015 : International Summit on Critical and Transformative Making, Yogyakarta — by Sharath Chandra Ram — last modified Jun 18, 2016 06:00 PM: Transformaking 2015 brought together makers, scientist, hackers, bricoleurs, researchers, artists, designers and other interdisciplinary practitioners from across the globe in a series of Residency and Research Program, Symposium, Exhibition, Fair, and Satellite Projects. It was held from August 10 to September 20, 2015. Transformaking 2015 was organized by HONF Foundation & CATEC (Culture Arts Technoloy Empowerment Community) in partnership with the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), Common Room, Crosslab, and Nicelab.
Pervasive Technologies: Working Document Series - Research Questions and a Literature Review on the Actor-Network Theory — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Sep 05, 2015 04:56 AM: This document is divided into two parts - the first part lays out a series of research questions, potentially seeking to apply actor-network theory as a research methodology. The second part seeks to map literature around the Actor-Network Theory ("ANT") as a research methodology.
CIS brings Nadustunna Charithra magazine under by CC BY SA licence — by Tanveer Hasan — last modified Jun 18, 2016 06:07 PM: As a part of its content donation initiative, the Centre for Internet & Society's Access to Knowledge team (CIS-A2K) has brought all issues of Nadustunna Charithra magazine under Creative Common Licence.
'We Need to Proactively Ensure that People Can't File Patents Representative of the Creativity of a FOSS Community' — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Sep 27, 2015 11:51 AM: Rohini Lakshané attended “Open Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Our Digital Culture” in Bangalore on August 13, 2015. Major takeaways from the event are documented in this post.
National IPR Policy Series: What Have the Sectoral Innovation Councils Been Doing on IPR — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Aug 13, 2015 01:36 AM: In this post, Nehaa Chaudhari and Varun Baliga delve into the question of what the mandate of the Sectoral Innovation Councils is, what its activities are, and what vision for IPR development in India has it put forth. An RTI Application has been filed by CIS to attain information on these issues.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Introduction — by Amulya Purushothama — last modified Sep 03, 2015 03:17 PM: In this blog post, Amulya Purushothama announces our new MHRD IPR Chair Series and charts the sequence of events, starting from the establishment of the MHRD IPR Chairs, to discussions surrounding their purpose and functioning, to concerns surrounding the lack of information about the IPR Chairs, the first round of RTIs CIS had filed in regard to this and the responses received. This series will document and analyze further RTIs filed and responses received in this regard.
CCI Participation at the Upcoming 3rd International Conference on IPR and Competition — by Amulya Purushothama — last modified Sep 13, 2015 09:31 AM: The Centre for Internet & Society wrote to the Competition Commission of India Chairman on August 5, 2015 about participation at a conference organised by Ericsson and concerns regarding conflict of interest. We also had several other NGOs sign on to the letter.
Comparative Transparency Review of Collective Management Organisations in India, United Kingdom and the United States — by Maggie Huang — last modified Aug 21, 2015 05:12 PM: This Transparency Review seeks to compare the publicly available information on the websites of music collective management organizations (“CMOs”) operating within India, the United States, and the United Kingdom. A total of 10 CMOs were selected, which included a range of non-profit, government registered organizations to for-profit, private organizations, managing works on behalf of record labels, publishers, composers, lyricists, and music performers. This exercise intends to contribute to the growing body of research on the relationship between transparency and effectiveness of CMOs. It concludes with recommendations and learnings which may lead to more transparent and effective functioning of copyright societies in India, and management of music copyright overall.
Report: 5G Technologies Workshop by IEEE — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Sep 27, 2015 11:45 AM: A report on the 5G Technologies Workshop organised by the Bangalore Chapter of the IEEE Communication Society at Bangalore on May 22 -23, 2015.
Statement by the Centre for Internet and Society on the Broadcast Treaty at SCCR 30 — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jul 02, 2015 01:20 AM: The 30th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization's ("WIPO") Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights ("SCCR") is underway in Geneva from 29 June, 2015 to 03 July, 2015. While CIS was unable to attend this meeting, we have the following statement to make on negotiations on the Proposed Treaty for Broadcasting Organizations.
Comments on the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations: Technical Background Paper Prepared by the WIPO Secretariat — by Nehaa Chaudhari and Amulya Purushothama — last modified Sep 03, 2015 01:47 AM: Technical Background Paper prepared by the WIPO Secretariat in relation to the Broadcast Treaty (“Technical Background Paper) provides information on new and emerging technologies and on legal developments in the broadcasting sector. This Technical Background Paper will be discussed at the upcoming 30th session of the SCCR in Geneva on 29th June- 3rd July 2015. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India had called for comments on the same. This is a submission made by Nehaa Chaudhari and Amulya Purushothama on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society in this regard.
National IPR Policy Series : Follow-up RTI to DIPP on the IPR Think Tank — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jun 25, 2015 12:43 AM: This RTI was prepared by Varun Baliga and Nehaa Chaudhari as a follow-up, based on the responses of the DIPP to our earlier RTI requests (available at http://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/national-ipr-policy-series-rti-requests-by-cis-to-dipp-dipp-responses)
The US 301 Report – A Myopic View of IP Rights — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jun 24, 2015 03:35 PM: Varun Baliga and Nehaa Chaudhari discuss the 2015 US 301 Report, focussing on its narrow and convenient understanding of IP rights. A farrago of contradictions, it supports a rightsholder-centric view but not when the right, Geographical Indicator, is not to their liking. Similarly, the emphasis on the rights themselves gives short shrift to critical exceptions and limitations that also enhance and incentivize innovation, the ostensible purpose of IP.
National IPR Policy Series : India's National IPR Policy - What Would WIPO Think? — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jul 02, 2015 05:47 PM: As part of the National IPR Policy Series, CIS is evaluating how India's National IPR Policy framework and process holds up to WIPO's suggestions. In this note, Varun Baliga and Nehaa Chaudhari examine in particular, the functioning of the IPR Think Tank and the first draft of the National Policy in light of the WIPO framework and the principles it encapsulates.
Joining the Dots in India's Big-Ticket Mobile Phone Patent Litigation (Updated) — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified May 06, 2018 03:51 AM: An analysis of the significant commonalities and differences in various big-ticket lawsuits in India over the alleged infringement of mobile device patents.
National IPR Policy Series - CIS Letter to IPR Think Tank — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 28, 2015 01:08 PM: We sent this letter to the IPR Think Tank following responses that we received from the DIPP, to our RTI requests.
Report: Global Intellectual Property Convention 2015 — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Jun 21, 2015 01:36 PM: The Global Intellectual Property Convention was held in January 2015 in Mumbai. Interns Anna Liz Thomas and Nayana Dasgupta assisted with the making of this report.
National IPR Policy Series : Who is a 'public authority' under the RTI Act? — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 21, 2015 05:03 PM: In this blog post, CIS intern Devrupa Rakshit examines case law with respect to the understanding of a 'public authority' under the Right to Information ("RTI") Act, 2005.
Call for Participation: Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jun 24, 2015 04:11 PM: We are pleased to announce the call for participation for the fourth edition of the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest (“Global Congress”), being hosted at New Delhi from December 15 to 17, 2015.
2015 USTR Report: Old Wine in New Bottle — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jun 16, 2015 10:24 AM: Every year, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) undertakes an elaborate exercise to castigate countries' domestic intellectual property (IP) law and policy. The criticisms and recommendations are presented in a document called the Special 301 Report. This year's edition puts India on the Priority Watch List for the twenty-sixth time in a row. Below, I rebut the report's prejudicial claims and demands, and argue that the report puts free speech, innovation and public interest in jeopardy.
Pervasive Technologies Project Working Document Series: Literature Review on IPR in Mobile app development — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Aug 31, 2015 01:48 PM: This post is literature survey of material exploring and analysing the role of Application Platforms in the Mobile Applications Development ecosystem, albeit from an intellectual property perspective. The document is a work in progress.
National IPR Policy Series: RTI Requests by CIS to DIPP + DIPP Responses — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Apr 26, 2015 08:47 AM: In earlier blog posts, we have discussed the development of India’s National IPR Policy (“the Policy”); comments by the Centre for Internet and Society (“CIS”) to the IPR Think Tank before the release of the first draft of the Policy and CIS’ comments to the IPR Think Tank in response to the first draft of the Policy. Continuing our National IPR Policy Series, this article documents our requests to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (“DIPP” / “the Department”) under the Right to Information (“RTI”) Act, 2005 and the responses of the Department.
Conference on Standards Settings Organizations (SSO) and FRAND, NLSIU — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Apr 02, 2016 06:12 PM: Rohini Lakshané attended the Conference on Standards Settings Organizations (SSO) and FRAND held at NLSIU, Bengaluru on March 21 and 22, 2015. It was organised by the MHRD Chair on Intellectual Property Rights, Centre for Intellectual Property Rights and Advocacy (CIPRA), National Law School of India University, Bengaluru in association with Intel Technology India. This post is a compilation of notes from the conference.
Interviews with App Developers: Open Source, Community, and Contradictions – Part III — by Samantha Cassar — last modified Apr 03, 2015 08:15 AM: The following is a third post within a series reporting on interviews conducted with 10 of Bangalore's mobile app developers and other industry stakeholders. Through this research, CIS attempts to understand how the developers interviewed engage with the law within their practice, particularly with respect to IP. Here we examine different attitudes and perspectives towards themes related to open software, as well as contract agreements.
Interviews with App Developers: Name of the Game (Part IV) — by Samantha Cassar — last modified Apr 03, 2015 08:58 AM: The following is a concluding piece in a series reporting on interviews conducted with 10 of Bangalore's mobile app developers and other industry stakeholders. Within this research, CIS attempts to understand how they engage with the law within their practice, particularly with respect to IP. Here we examine responses given across interviews regarding instances of infringement of IP within their work.
Mobile App Developer Series: Terms of Agreement – Part IV — by Samantha Cassar — last modified Apr 03, 2015 08:26 AM: The following is Part Four in a series reporting on interviews conducted with 10 of Bangalore's mobile app developers and other industry stakeholders. Through this research, CIS attempts to understand how the developers interviewed engage with the law within their practice, particularly with respect to IP. Here we examine different attitudes and work practices related to contracts agreements and developer culture in the legal realm.
Intellectual Property Rights — Open Access for Researchers — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Mar 24, 2015 01:22 AM: In the year 2013, Nehaa Chaudhari had worked on a module on Intellectual Property Rights for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s Open Access Curriculum (Curriculum for Researchers) as part of a project for the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia. UNESCO published the module this year. Nehaa Chaudhari and Varun Baliga were among the Module preparation team. Nehaa Chaudhari was the writer for Units 1, 2 and 3: Understanding Intellectual Property Rights, Copyright and Alternative to a Strict Copyright Regime.
Announcing the dates, theme and tentative tracks for the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest 2015 — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Mar 19, 2015 06:34 AM: We are pleased to announce that the Global Congress will be held from 15th-17 December 2015. The theme of the 2015 Global Congress is Three Decades of Openness; Two Decades of TRIPS. The four tentative tracks include Openness, User Rights, Access to Medicines, and Intellectual Property and Development.
Compilation of Mobile Phone Patent Litigation Cases in India — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Feb 08, 2018 02:41 PM: This working paper is an attempt to chronicle information about big-ticket lawsuits pertaining to mobile technology patents filed in India. All information presented in this paper has been gathered from publicly available sources. Interns Nayana Dasgupta, Sampada Nayak and Suchisubhra Sarkar (in alphabetical order) provided invaluable research assistance. This paper was first published as a blog post on the CIS website on March 15, 2015. It was periodically updated till October 31, 2017 to reflect new developments in the different lawsuits at the Delhi High Court and the cases with the Competition Commission of India.
Academia and Civil Society submit critical comments to DIPP on draft National IPR Policy — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Mar 08, 2015 11:27 AM: As our readers may be aware, the DIPP had initiated public consultation on the drafting of India’s first National IPR policy in November 2014.
Open Letter to Prime Minister Modi — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Feb 14, 2016 04:39 AM: After the government introduced the "Make in India" and "Digital India" programmes, the air is thick with the promise of reduced imports, new jobs, and goods for the domestic market. In light of the patent wars in India, the government can ill-afford to overlook the patent implications in indigenously manufactured mobile phones. CIS proposes that the Government of India initiate the formation of a patent pool of critical mobile technologies and a five percent compulsory license.
National IPR Policy Series : RTI Requests to DIPP seeking Details on the IPR Think Tank and the National IPR Policy — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Apr 12, 2015 12:48 PM: In an earlier blog post titled " National IPR Policy Series : The Development of the National IPR Policy", we discussed the formation of an IPR Think Tank to draft the first National IPR Policy. Since many details about the constitution and working of this Think Tank were unavailable, we decided to send out RTI requests to find out more.
National IPR Policy Series : CIS Comments to the First Draft of the National IP Policy — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Feb 09, 2015 12:59 AM: The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India invited comments on the First Draft of India's National IPR Policy. The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) made this submission. The comments were prepared by Nehaa Chaudhari, Pranesh Prakash and Anubha Sinha. We also thank our intern, Varnika Chawla for her assistance.
Telugu Wikimedia Hackathon 2014 — by Rahmanuddin Shaikh — last modified Feb 10, 2015 05:17 PM: Telugu Wikimedia (including their projects Telugu Wikipedia, Telugu Wikisource etc.) is one of the largest and most powerful Indian language Wikimedia projects, and it is growing and expanding everyday. In the last half of 2014, Telugu Wikimedia community members contacted CIS-A2K team with a request to organize a MediaWiki tutorial workshop for them. Following their request, on 28 December 2014, CIS-A2K team organized a MediaWiki hackathon event for Telugu Wikimedia community members to enhance their skills and understanding of technical matters related to MediaWiki usage. The theme of the workshop was “Mediawiki, its extensions and tools to work around” and it aimed at allowing Wikipedians to use MediaWiki tools more effectively.
RTI Responses - MHRD IP Chairs: Details of Funding & Expenditure — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Feb 02, 2015 01:28 PM: In an earlier blog post titled "MHRD IPR Chairs — Underutilization of Funds and Lack of Information Regarding Expenditures", we discussed the lack of information regarding the expenditure by various MHRD Chairs in the country. We sent out RTI requests to find out more. This blog post discusses the responses that we have received so far. (Many thanks to CIS intern Varnika Chawla for her assistance)
National IPR Policy Series : The Development of the National IPR Policy — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jan 22, 2015 12:48 AM: This is the first blog post in a series of posts on India's National IPR Policy. In this post, CIS intern, Varnika Chawla traces the evolution of the National IPR Policy.
Beyond Alcohol and Angel Investors: Building Business Models in an Age of Mobile Music Streaming (Conference Learnings) — by Maggie Huang — last modified Feb 23, 2015 12:39 PM: This blog post is the first of a series of blogs to document, synthesize, and analyze learnings from attending various music industry trade conferences. This first post introduces the research question, and highlights learnings about the various business models which can be accessible via the mobile, and broadly how the music industry is attempting to respond to monetization challenges.
Announcing the Institutional Partner for the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest 2015 — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jan 07, 2015 01:34 PM: We are pleased to announce that National Law University, Delhi will be hosting the fourth edition of the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest in December 2015.
Pervasive Technologies Project Working Document Series: Document 2 Literature Review on Competition Law + IPR + Access to < $100 Mobile Devices — by Amulya Purushothama and Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Sep 03, 2015 02:02 AM: This note is the second document in the series of Working Documents that I will be creating for my research under the Pervasive Technologies: Access to Knowledge in the Marketplace (“PT Project”).
Literature Survey: Patent Landscaping in the Indian Marketplace — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Jan 22, 2016 02:50 AM: This literature survey identifies previously published research relevant to the research on patent landscaping in the Indian mobile device market, which has been undertaken as a part of the Pervasive Technologies project. This document is a work-in-progress.
Government Intervention in the Marketplace: Policies for Access or Politics? (Interviews with Semiconductor Industry – Part 4) — by Maggie Huang — last modified Dec 26, 2014 02:34 PM: This is the last of a four-part blog series highlighting findings from a small sample of interviews with fabless semiconductor industry professionals in Taiwan. These industry insiders was approached for the intent of understanding expert knowledge on the process of integrated circuit design. However, the conversations resulted in leanings far beyond that scope. This post explores the tension between market forces and governmental intervention in providing access to mobile technology.
“Copyright Management in the Age of Mobile Music” - Living Methodology Document — by Maggie Huang — last modified Dec 26, 2014 01:44 PM: This blog post outlines the research methodology for a chapter in the Pervasive Technologies: Access to the Marketplace project, in which access to the mobile phone hardware, software, and content is assessed within the intellectual property framework in India and China. This chapter focuses on copyright and access to music content in India.
[Open] Innovation and Expertise > Patent Protection & Trolls in a Broken Patent Regime (Interviews with Semiconductor Industry - Part 3) — by Maggie Huang — last modified Dec 26, 2014 01:19 PM: This is the third of a four-part blog series1 highlighting findings from a small sample of interviews with fabless semiconductor industry professionals in Taiwan. These industry insiders was approached for the intent of understanding expert knowledge on the process of integrated circuit design. However, the conversations resulted in leanings far beyond that scope. This post explores some of their views on the current intellectual property system.
CIS Submission to the Expert Committee: Protection of Broadcasting Organisations under the Proposed Treaty as Compared to Other International Conventions — by Amulya Purushothama and Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Sep 03, 2015 02:05 AM: This is a submission made by Nehaa Chaudhari on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society to the Expert Committee on the Broadcast Treaty constituted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. This submission compares provisions of the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations that is being deliberated at WIPO's SCCR at the moment, and provisions for the protection of rights of broadcasters that are already present in existing international instruments.
29th Session of the WIPO SCCR: Statement on the Limitations and Exceptions for Education, Teaching, Research Institutions and Persons with Disabilities — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Dec 20, 2014 01:40 PM: At the 29th session of WIPO's SCCR, the Chair, Martin Moscoso, requested NGOs to send in their statements on limitations and exceptions for education, teaching, research institutions and persons with disabilities in writing, to be placed on the record. Nehaa Chaudhari, on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) sent in this written statement.
29th Session of the WIPO SCCR: CIS Intervention : Questions to Prof. Kenneth Crews on his Updated Study on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Dec 14, 2014 02:56 AM: Nehaa Chaudhari on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) on December 11 during one of the sessions in WIPO asked two questions to Prof. Kenneth Crews.
CIS Submission to the Expert Committee: Comment on the Broadening of Definitions in the Proposed Broadcast Treaty Compared to Other International Conventions — by Amulya Purushothama and Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Sep 03, 2015 02:08 AM: This is a submission made by Nehaa Chaudhari on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society to the Expert Committee on the Broadcast Treaty constituted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. This submission compares the definitions of various terms in the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations that is being deliberated at WIPO's SCCR at the moment, and definitions for these terms that are already present in existing international instruments.
29th Session of the WIPO SCCR: CIS- 2nd (brief) Intervention on the Broadcast Treaty — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Dec 12, 2014 11:56 AM: On Day 3 (December 10, 2014), the SCCR briefly re-convened at the Plenary. The Chair, Martin Moscoso updated the Committee on the discussions and the developments that had taken place over the course of the past two days in the Informals. The Centre for Internet and Society made a brief pointed intervention on one of the documents being discussed in the Informals.
29th Session of the WIPO SCCR: CIS Intervention on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Dec 12, 2014 11:55 AM: The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) made its intervention on the proposed treaty in the ongoing WIPO session on December 9, 2014.
National IPR Policy Series : Comments on the Proposed Intellectual Property Rights Policy to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Apr 12, 2015 11:39 AM: On 13 November, 2014, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion had released a Call for Suggestions for India's proposed National IPR Policy. This is the Centre for Internet and Society's (CIS) submission for the same.
Access to Medicines: Petition to the US Government to Stop Pressure on India — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Dec 10, 2014 01:02 PM: There is growing pressure on India from the US Government to change its intellectual property system. Bending to US pressure will put medicines out of reach for millions of patients in India and other developing countries.
PERVASIVE TECHNOLOGIES PROJECT WORKING DOCUMENT SERIES: DOCUMENT 1 - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR A PAPER ON COMPETITION LAW + IPR + ACCESS TO < $100 MOBILE DEVICES — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Oct 04, 2015 02:51 AM: This blog post is the research methodology for my research paper under the Pervasive Technologies Project. This is a work in progress and is likely to be modified from time to time.
MHRD IPR Chairs — Underutilization of Funds and Lack of Information Regarding Expenditures — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Nov 19, 2014 03:19 PM: Funds granted to the IPR Chairs set up by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development are often left underutilized. Details regarding the expenditures that are incurred by the Chairs are also currently unavailable. CIS intern Amulya Purushothama examines this further.
Methodology: Access to Music through the Mobile — by Maggie Huang — last modified Dec 08, 2014 04:22 PM: Like its predecessors the vinyl, the cassette tape, the CD, and the MP3 player, the mobile phone as the most recent musical carrier have been well documented to be a disruptive technology, one which has made earlier carrier technologies virtually obsolete. The mobile phone has transformed the music industry and its supporting infrastructure — dramatically altering the roles of various intermediaries and stakeholders who enable the creation, distribution, and consumption of musical content.
Intellectual Property in Mobile Application Development in India — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Aug 31, 2015 02:33 PM: A steady rise in smart phone penetration in India has led to a corresponding growth of the mobile application development industry. Mobile application development like all technological implementations is subject to intellectual property issues. However, very little is understood about the effect of existing patent and copyright law on this niche industry. I aim to develop an understanding of the mobile applications industry, and how it is governed by current Indian patent and copyright regime. I will also use this research to inform the optimal ways in which policymakers may ensure the continual emergence of the mobile applications industry. This blog post lays down a document delineating the research methodology and research questions within the Intellectual Property in Mobile Application Development in India chapter under the Pervasive Technologies Project. The document is a work in progress.
Methodology: Intellectual Property in Mobile Application Development in India — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Aug 10, 2015 03:20 PM: A steady rise in smart phone penetration in India has led to a corresponding growth of the mobile application development industry. Mobile application development like all technological implementations is subject to intellectual property issues. However, very little is understood about the effect of existing patent and copyright law on this niche industry. I aim to develop an understanding of the mobile applications industry, and how it is governed by current Indian patent and copyright regime. I will also use this research to inform the optimal ways in which policymakers may ensure the continual emergence of the mobile applications industry. This blog post lays down a document delineating the research methodology and research questions within the Intellectual Property in Mobile Application Development in India chapter under the Pervasive Technologies Project. The document is a work in progress.
An Article on Kannada Wikipedia — by U.B.Pavanaja — last modified Dec 05, 2014 01:22 AM: I wrote an article on Kannada Wikipedia which was published in the Yojana magazine on November 2014 issue.
Methodology: Patent Landscaping in the Indian Mobile Device Market — by Rohini Lakshané — last modified Feb 15, 2017 02:05 PM: Through the patent landscaping exercise, we have identified patents pertaining to Internet-enabled mobile devices sold in India for USD 100 or less. The findings from this exercise are being used to develop legal strategies to reduce patent-based impediments to the widespread and rapid proliferation of this beneficial technology throughout India. The research methodology adopted for the patent landscaping exercise has been delineated here. This document is a work in progress.
Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions: Mapping the Stakeholders' Response — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jan 05, 2015 05:01 PM: The procedure and tests surrounding software patenting in India have remained ambiguous since the Parliament introduced the term “per se” through the Patent (Amendment) Act, 2002. In 2013, the Indian Patent Office released Draft Guidelines for the Examination of Computer Related Inventions, in an effort to clarify some of the ambiguity. Through this post, CIS intern, Shashank Singh, analyses the various responses by the stakeholders to these Guidelines and highlights the various issues put forth in the responses.
Letter to the Prime Minister on Indo-US Bilateral Relations on Intellectual Property — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Nov 03, 2014 02:58 PM: This is a letter that many organizations sent to the Prime Minister. The Centre for Internet and Society was one of the signatories.
Fab to Fabless: Understanding the Process of Chip Manufacturing (Interviews with Semiconductor Industry - Part 2) — by Maggie Huang — last modified Dec 26, 2014 12:06 PM: This is the second of a four-part blog series highlighting findings from a small sample of interviews with fabless semiconductor industry professionals in Taiwan. These industry insiders was approached for the intent of understanding expert knowledge on the process of integrated circuit design. This post explores the process of chip manufacturing and the foundry business model.
Changing Usage Models: Desktops to Ubiquitous Cloud-Based Mobile Computing (Interviews with Semiconductor Industry - Part 1) — by Maggie Huang — last modified Dec 26, 2014 12:08 PM: This is the first of a four-part blog series highlighting findings from a small sample of interviews with fabless semiconductor industry professionals in Taiwan. These industry insiders was approached for the intent of understanding expert knowledge on the process of integrated circuit design. However, the conversations resulted in leanings far beyond that scope. This post explores the trends of personal computing technology, which provides the pretext for the narrowing of the Pervasive Technologies project scope to a focus on the mobile phone.
Karnataka Goondas Act - A note on Legislative Competence — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Sep 06, 2014 04:47 AM: A couple of weeks ago, we had an insightful guest post by Nehaa Chaudhari on amendments to Karnataka's Goondas Act, a draconian legislation which seeks to allow preventive detention for some types of copyright violations. Today, we have a follow up post on that, that argues that the recent amendments are unconstitutional.
Announcing the Tracks for the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest 2015 — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Aug 22, 2014 09:47 AM: CIS recently announced that the Centre for Internet and Society will be hosting the fourth edition of the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest at New Delhi, India, tentatively in the first two weeks of December, 2015. This post declares the track events to be conducted, seeks your participation and invites contributions from potential funders.
Interviews with App Developers: [dis]regard towards IPR vs. Patent Hype – Part II — by Samantha Cassar — last modified Aug 19, 2014 03:51 AM: The following is a second post within a series reporting on interviews conducted with 10 of Bangalore's mobile app developers and other industry stakeholders. Within this research, CIS attempts to understand how they engage with the law within their practice, particularly with respect to IP. Here we examine how these developers responded to a question on legal protection for their works.
Preventive Detention for Copyright Violation: Karnataka Amends the 'Goondas' Act — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Aug 13, 2014 12:46 PM: Last week, the Government of Karnataka amended the Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-Offenders, Gamblers, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Slum Gamblers Act, 1985 (“the Karnataka Goondas Act”). The Karnataka Goondas Act would now also apply to offences under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 and the Information Technology Act, 2000. This article presents an overview on the various provisions of this law and discusses the potential impact of the amendment.
Analysing Alice Corporation Pty Ltd v CLS Bank International Et Al — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Aug 01, 2014 07:09 PM: The US Supreme Court delivered a unanimous decision in Alice Corporation Pty Ltd v CLS Bank International Et Al last month. The decision concerning software related inventions (with respect to carving an exception to “abstract ideas” patent eligibility category) was the most awaited and the final patent ruling of the US’ Supreme Court’s term. This post presents an analysis of the decision and a timeline of landmark US judicial decisions on software patents.
Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest, 2015 — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jun 24, 2015 04:45 PM: We are pleased to announce that the Centre for Internet and Society will be hosting the fourth edition of the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest at New Delhi, India, tentatively in the first two weeks of December, 2015. This post seeks your participation and invites your queries and suggestions for the event.
28th Session of the WIPO SCCR: Report on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Aug 07, 2014 10:44 AM: The 28th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“the Committee” / "SCCR") took place in Geneva from June 30, 2014 to July 04, 2014. In this article, Nehaa Chaudhari, who attended this meeting on behalf of CIS, discusses the developments that took place with reference to the proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations (“Broadcast Treaty”).
Grounds for Compulsory Patent Licensing in United States, Canada, China, and India — by Maggie Huang — last modified Jul 29, 2014 08:45 AM: The research paper seeks to answer questions about the grounds of compulsory licensing in international treaties with specific examples from America and Asia. The grounds for granting compulsory licenses, jurisdictional comparison of compulsory licensing, etc., are examined.
Mapping Institutions of Intellectual Property: Part C — Comparing Intellectual Property Institutions — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jul 22, 2014 04:24 AM: Earlier this year, a proposal to establish a National Institute of Intellectual Property Rights (“NIIPR”) was presented at a Stakeholders Consultation held in New Delhi organized by the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (“MHRD”), Government of India. As a third part in the series on Mapping Institutions of Intellectual Property, this article undertakes a comparison of the functions of this proposed Institute with similarly placed Institutions of Intellectual Property around the world.
Patent Valuation and License Fee Determination in Context of Patent Pools — by Vikrant Narayan Vasudeva — last modified Jul 09, 2014 09:46 AM: The focus of this research paper is on an extremely limited though important aspect of patent pools — that of patent valuation and license fee determination. It is important to bear in mind that the concept of patent valuation and license fee determination as it exists independently is modified when it is applied in context of patent pools.
Opening Comments by India on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives at WIPO SCCR 28 — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jul 21, 2014 05:55 PM: This was the statement made by the Indian delegation at the 28th session of the World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights on July 2, 2014.
Statement on the Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives at WIPO SCCR 28 — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jul 21, 2014 05:56 PM: Nehaa Chaudhari, attending the 28th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 30 June, 2014 to 04 July, 2014, made this statement on the Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives on behalf of CIS on Day 4, 03 July, 2014.
Statement on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations at WIPO SCCR 28 — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jul 14, 2014 05:40 AM: Nehaa Chaudhari, attending the 28th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 30 June, 2014 to 04 July, 2014, made this statement on the Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations on behalf of CIS on Day 3, 02 July, 2014.
Mapping Institutions of Intellectual Property: Part B — India's National Program on Intellectual Property Management — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jun 26, 2014 03:27 PM: As a second part in the series on Mapping Institutions of Intellectual Property this blog post deals with the documents introduced at the Stakeholders’ Consultation for India’s National Program on Intellectual Property.
Mapping Institutions of Intellectual Property (Part A): India's National Programme on Intellectual Property Management — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jun 10, 2014 07:34 AM: This blog post discusses India’s National Program on Intellectual Property Management, including the establishment of a National Institute of Intellectual Property Rights.
France, Greece, India and the European Union Sign the Marrakesh Treaty — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 02, 2014 11:23 PM: On April 30, 2014, on Day 3 of the 27th Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, a Signing Ceremony was conducted for member states wishing to sign the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to books and other reading material for the print disabled.
CIS Statement (on Technological Measures of Protection) at 27th SCCR on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 02, 2014 11:18 AM: The 27th Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is being held in Geneva from April 28, 2014 to May 2, 2014. Nehaa Chaudhari, on behalf of CIS made the following statement on May 2, 2014.
CIS Statement (on Orphan Works, Retracted and Withdrawn Works, and Works out of Commerce) at 27th SCCR on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 02, 2014 11:21 AM: The 27th Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is being held in Geneva from April 28, 2014 to May 2, 2014. Nehaa Chaudhari, on behalf of CIS made the following statement on May 1, 2014.
Transcripts of Discussions at WIPO SCCR 27 — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 25, 2014 04:50 AM: We are providing archival copies of the transcripts of the 27th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, which is being held in Geneva from April 28, 2014 to May 2, 2014.
Report on the WIPO Director General’s Meeting with NGO’s — by Puneeth Nagaraj — last modified Apr 30, 2014 05:33 AM: The Director General’s meeting with NGO’s was held on March 25, 2014. This is an annual meeting where accredited NGO’s have an opportunity to have a one on one discussion with the Director General on issues that concern them.
CIS Statement at 27th SCCR on the WIPO Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 01, 2014 02:27 PM: The 27th Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is being held in Geneva from April 28, 2014 to May 2, 2014. Nehaa Chaudhari, on behalf of CIS made the following statement on April 29, 2014.
Report on the 31st Session of the Standing Committee on Trademarks — by Puneeth Nagaraj — last modified May 06, 2014 07:22 AM: Puneeth Nagraj reports about the 31st Session of the Standing Committee on Trademarks (SCT) that he attended.
Signing and Ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified May 06, 2014 08:32 AM: The Centre for Internet and Society sent the following letter to the Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development on March 14, 2014.
Report on CDIP-12 — by Puneeth Nagaraj — last modified Apr 22, 2014 09:53 AM: The 12th meeting of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) was held from November 18-21, 2013 at WIPO. This report discusses the proceedings of the meeting and issues that CIS could get involved at future CDIP meetings.
App Developers Series: Products-Services Dichotomy & IP (Part I) — by Samantha Cassar — last modified Jul 21, 2014 01:43 AM: Recently, the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) held a series of interviews in attempts to better understand the ecosystem in which India's mobile app industry is emerging, how it is governed by India's current laws, and how mobile app developers are affected as a result. The following written series maps out the given responses and presents our findings from these interviews and accompanying conversations.
Online Survey for Indian Mobile App Developer Startups & Enterprises — by Samantha Cassar — last modified Apr 15, 2014 08:33 AM: The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) recently released an online survey for mobile app developers to respond on their legal practices within their work, as well as their business models and familiarity with India's laws. Through this research initiative, CIS hopes to better understand the dynamics of India's mobile app ecosystem amongst stakeholders, and how developers are directly or indirectly affected by the laws in place governing this ecosystem.
Cultural Interests vs. Modernization: Robert Shapiro on IPR & Innovation in India — by Samantha Cassar — last modified Apr 03, 2014 10:54 AM: Last Friday March 28, 2014, prominent economist and chairman of Sonecon, llc, Dr. Robert Shapiro, lead a discussion on the roles of IPR and FDI in innovation. Within his research findings, Shapiro argues for India to adopt a stricter IP regime in order to attract higher rates of FDI in pharmaceuticals and other industries, and in turn, to spur a more successful economy.
WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) 26th Session- Consolidated Notes (Part 3 of 3) — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Apr 01, 2014 09:48 AM: From December 16 to 20, 2013, the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) met for the 26th session. This blog post (Part 3 of 3) summarizes Day 4 of the proceedings of the 26th SCCR, based on my notes of the session and WIPO's transcripts.
Broadcast Treaty: An Overview — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Mar 20, 2014 09:55 AM: In this blog post, CIS intern Varun Baliga, a third year law student at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, presents an overview of the Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations, currently being deliberated by nations at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR).
WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) 26th Session- Consolidated Notes (Part 2 of 3) — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Mar 20, 2014 04:52 AM: From December 16 to 20, 2013, the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) met for the 26th session. This blog post (Part 2 of 3) summarizes Days 3 and 4 of the proceedings of the 26th SCCR, based on my notes of the session and WIPO's transcripts.
WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) 26th Session- Consolidated Notes (Part 1 of 3) — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Mar 20, 2014 04:49 AM: From December 16 to 20, 2013, the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) met for the 26th Session. This blog post (Part 1 of 3) summarizes Days 1 and 2 of the proceedings of the 26th SCCR, based on my notes of the session and WIPO's transcripts.
004: A License to Share — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Mar 20, 2014 05:38 AM: In this blogpost Devika Agarwal, a 4th year student at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow, takes a first look at the Creative Commons 4.0 Licence.
NGO Profile: Third World Network — by Puneeth Nagaraj — last modified Mar 14, 2014 01:32 PM: In the second blog in this series, I profile the work of the IP team of Third World Network (TWN) at the various International Organisations in Geneva.
Report on the 9th Session of the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement — by Puneeth Nagaraj — last modified Mar 14, 2014 01:54 PM: The 9th Session of the Advisory Committee on Enforcement ended here in Geneva last week. In this report, I look at the major issues discussed at the Session and the deadlock over future work of the Committee.
NGO Profile: Knowledge Ecology International — by Puneeth Nagaraj — last modified Mar 11, 2014 04:10 PM: As CIS’ observer in Geneva, I will be profiling NGOs and other prominent actors at the WIPO. In the first in a series of blogs, I profile the work of Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) at the various International Organisations in Geneva.
Can Judges Order ISPs to Block Websites for Copyright Infringement? (Part 3) — by Ananth Padmanabhan — last modified Feb 14, 2014 05:13 AM: In a three-part study, Ananth Padmanabhan examines the "John Doe" orders that courts have passed against ISPs, which entertainment companies have used to block dozens, if not hundreds, of websites. In this, the third and concluding part, he looks at the Indian law in the Copyright Act and the Information Technology Act, and concludes that both those laws restrain courts and private companies from ordering an ISP to block a website for copyright infringement.
Can Judges Order ISPs to Block Websites for Copyright Infringement? (Part 2) — by Ananth Padmanabhan — last modified Mar 06, 2014 04:48 PM: In a three-part study, Ananth Padmanabhan examines the "John Doe" orders that courts have passed against ISPs, which entertainment companies have used to block dozens, if not hundreds, of websites. In this, the second part, he looks at the law laid down by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court on secondary and contributory copyright infringement, and finds that those wouldn't allow Indian courts to grant "John Doe" orders against ISPs.
The Game of IPR: Insights from the 6th Global Intellectual Property Convention in Hyderabad — by Samantha Cassar — last modified Jan 31, 2014 09:56 AM: IP practitioners and IP creators were among the 1700 participants to gather at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre earlier this month. Here, CIS had the opportunity of listening in on perspectives around the “Optimization of economic value of innovation & IPR in the global market” while attending numerous talks and sessions that were held over the course of the convention’s three days.
Open Letter to the Vatican: Request for Holy See to Comment on IPR — by Samantha Cassar — last modified Jan 31, 2014 07:14 AM: Due to the Holy See’s demonstrated pro-access position to medicines and published materials for persons with disabilities, the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) requested for His Excellency, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, to also consider copyrights, patents or IPR more generally, as the Holy See’s Permanent Observer at WIPO. We strongly encourage other organizations and civil society groups to modify this letter, as needed, and to contact the Holy See Mission to the United Nations (and WIPO) in Geneva in order to help us prompt His Excellency to contribute to the international dialogue on IPR.
Can Judges Order ISPs to Block Websites for Copyright Infringement? (Part 1) — by Ananth Padmanabhan — last modified Jan 31, 2014 06:00 AM: In a three-part study, Ananth Padmanabhan examines the "John Doe" orders that courts have passed against ISPs, which entertainment companies have used to block dozens, if not hundreds, of websites. In this part, he looks at the theory behind John Doe orders and finds that it would be wrong for Indian courts to grant "John Doe" orders against ISPs.
CIS Statement on Limitations and Exceptions for Education, Teaching and Research Institutions and Persons with Other Disabilities — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Dec 30, 2013 06:17 AM: Nehaa Chaudhari on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) made this statement at the WIPO-SCCR on December 20, 2013.
CIS Statement on the proposed treaty for Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Dec 30, 2013 06:46 AM: Nehaa Chaudhari on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) made the statement at the WIPO-SCCR on December 18, 2013.
WIPO Broadcast Treaty- SCCR 26 : Proposals Introduced — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Dec 30, 2013 03:48 PM: India and the United States introduced proposals for discussion at the ongoing session of the SCCR.
CIS Comments to the Ministry of Human Resource Development on the Proposed WIPO Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Dec 07, 2013 07:57 AM: As a follow up to a stakeholder meeting called by the MHRD on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty, CIS provided written comments on the Working Document for a Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations adopted by the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) at its twenty-fourth session, Geneva, July 16 to 25, 2012.
History of Creative Commons in India — by Priyank Dwivedi — last modified Nov 13, 2013 04:20 AM: This blog-post discusses the potential for Creative Commons in India, in light of imminent Creative Commons Re-launch, by highlighting the history of works licensed under Creative Commons in the country.
The Fight for Digital Sovereignty — by Sunil Abraham — last modified Oct 25, 2013 07:29 AM: It is time to incorporate free software principles to address the issue of privacy. Thanks to the revelations of Edward Snowden, a former contractor to the United States (US) National Security Agency (NSA) who leaked secrets about the agency’s surveillance programmes, a 24-year-old movement aimed at protecting the rights of software users and developers has got some fresh attention from policymakers.
Ambiguity in the App Store: Understanding India’s emerging IT sector in light of IP — by Samantha Cassar — last modified Apr 15, 2014 08:24 AM: Mobile applications hold immense potential for India but are not fully understood by even their own developers in the context of India’s intellectual property (IP) regime. This is the first in a series of blog posts introducing CIS's new access to knowledge research initiative that seeks to understand how stakeholders encounter India’s IP law and what this means for the mobile app ecosystem, and in turn, the Indian mobile user. This research also aims to address problematic policy areas for innovation and protection for developers, as well as to comment on India’s regime with respect to the emerging mobile app sector.
Mobile Phone Patents: Prior Art Survey — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Oct 24, 2013 10:33 AM: In this blog post, Nehaa Chaudhari discusses a study on a portion of the patent landscape around mobile phone patents, commissioned by CIS earlier this year. This prior art search was undertaken by Rohan George of Samvad Partners, who worked as a Consultant with CIS.
Konkani Wikipedia — Climbing up the Indian Language Ladder? — by Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Oct 25, 2013 07:16 AM: Konkani as a language has seen geographical, political and religious conflicts. Being the official language of Goa and spoken widely in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra it is still trying to strengthen its base. Recently CIS-A2K in collaboration with Goa University organized a four-day workshop for MA, Konkani language students. This workshop involved 38 students creating 43 new articles on Konkani Wikipedia which is incubation. We’re hoping that these efforts will contribute towards bringing this 7 year old project out of incubation to a live Wikipedia project.
India's Obligations under Bilateral Investment Treaties (Part A): “Bilateral Inhibiting Treaty?” — Investigating the Challenges that Bilateral Investment Treaties pose to the Compulsory Licensing of Pervasive Technology Patent Pools — by Gavin Pereira — last modified Sep 02, 2013 02:45 PM: In this blog post, the first of a series of three, Gavin Pereira attempts to address the challenges that India's obligations under Bilateral Investment Treaties may pose to the establishment of a patent pool in the country. The author thanks Puneeth Nagaraj for his guidance and inputs on this paper.
Copyrights and Copywrongs Why the Government Should Embrace the Public Domain — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Sep 06, 2013 04:56 AM: Each of you reading this article is a criminal and should be jailed for up to three years. Yes, you. "Why?," you may ask.
Are Indian Consumer Laws Ready for the Digital Age? — by Vipul Kharbanda — last modified Aug 08, 2013 11:52 AM: The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, recognizing the need for protection of the rights of consumers, drafted a set of model guidelines on consumer protection which were adopted by the General Assembly in 1985. The United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection (UNGCP) act as an international reference point of the consumer movement, however since it has been over a quarter of a century since they were first drafted, there is a strong argument for revising them to bring them in line with new developments in technology and business practices.
Do You Have the Right to Unlock Your Smart Phone? — by Puneeth Nagaraj — last modified Aug 07, 2013 07:32 AM: In this blog post Puneeth Nagaraj looks at the recent controversy over the expiration of the exemption granted by the US Library of Congress for unlocking phones and compares the Indian position as per a 2005 Andhra Pradesh High Court judgment.
Comments on the Draft Guidelines for Computer Related Inventions — by Puneeth Nagaraj — last modified Aug 02, 2013 08:27 AM: The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) submitted the below comments to the office of the Controller General of Patents Designs & Trademarks, Mumbai on July 26, 2013.
The ASSOCHAM International Conference on the "Interface between Intellectual Property and Competition Law" — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jul 22, 2013 05:54 AM: An international conference on interface between intellectual property and competition law was organized by ASSOCHAM on July 12, 2013 in New Delhi. In this post, Nehaa Chaudhari shares select notes from the conference.
Indian Language Wikipedia Statistics (September 2012 – April 2013) — by T.Vishnu Vardhan, Nitika Tandon and Subhashish Panigrahi — last modified Aug 23, 2013 01:48 AM: The Access to Knowledge team carried out a quantitative analysis to identify trends and growth patterns in Indian Language Wikipedias over the time period from September 2012 to April 2013.
India's Closing Statement at Marrakesh on the Treaty for the Blind — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jul 03, 2013 11:42 AM: This was the statement that the Government of India made at the closing of the WIPO Diplomatic Conference to Conclude a Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities (17-28 June 2013), after the Marrakesh Treaty (the "Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for the Blind, Visually Impaired and otherwise Print Disabled") was adopted.
CIS's Closing Statement at Marrakesh on the Treaty for the Blind — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jul 03, 2013 12:01 PM: Pranesh Prakash read out an abridged version of this statement as his closing remarks in Marrakesh, where the WIPO Treaty for the Blind (the "Marrakesh Treaty") has been successfully concluded. The Marrakesh Treaty aims to facilitate access to published works by blind persons, persons with visual impairment, and other print disabled persons, by requiring mandatory exceptions in copyright law to enable conversions of books into accessible formats, and by enabling cross-border transfer of accessible format books.
Letter for Establishment of Patent Pool for Low-cost Access Devices through Compulsory Licenses — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jun 27, 2013 08:06 AM: On June 27, 2013, CIS sent a letter for establishment of a patent pool for low cost access devices through compulsory licenses.
Pervasive Technologies: Patent Pools — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jul 03, 2013 06:57 AM: In this research paper, Nehaa Chaudhari gives an analysis of patent pools. She discusses the working of a patent pool, study patent pool in other areas of technology, and patenting in telecom and related technology.
Primer on the Treaty for the Visually Impaired — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jun 25, 2013 08:47 AM: In this primer, Pranesh Prakash and Puneeth Nagaraj explain what effects a WIPO Treaty for the Visually Impaired can have and who's opposing it.
India- EU FTA: A Note on the Copyright Issues — by Nehaa Chaudhari — last modified Jul 03, 2013 06:47 AM: In this blog post, Nehaa Chaudhari gives us an overview of some of the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the copyright issues identified therein.
CIS Signs MOU with TISS, Mumbai — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Jul 04, 2013 04:15 AM: The Access to Knowledge (A2K) team from the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) has signed a MOU with the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai.
On the Unfortunate Rise of the Indian SLAPP Suit — by Ujwala Uppaluri — last modified Jun 05, 2013 06:55 AM: It is not news in this country when the law or other institutions of the state, are used as tools by which to threaten or intimidate citizens into submission to a particular course of action or to a particular point of view. Unfortunate as that is, today’s post will deal with the rising incidence of SLAPP suits, an abuse of the adjudicatory process that is also a feature in a number of jurisdictions elsewhere.
CIS Intervention on the Treaty for the Visually Impaired at SCCR/SS/GE/2/13 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Apr 25, 2013 11:57 AM: The informal session and special session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights was organised by WIPO in Geneva from April 18 to April 20, 2013. Pranesh Prakash participated in the session and spoke about the rights of the visually impaired. An abridged version of this was read out during the meeting on Saturday, April 20, 2013, at 22:15 due to time restrictions.
Pervasive Technologies: Access to Knowledge in the Market Place — A Presentation by Sunil Abraham — by Sunil Abraham — last modified Feb 13, 2013 07:05 AM: The 2012 Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest was organized in Rio de Janeiro from December 15 to 17, 2012. The Centre for Internet & Society partnered FGV, Washington College of Law, the American Embassy, African Information Research and Training and International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development in this event. Sunil Abraham made a presentation on Pervasive Technologies on the opening day, December 15, 2012.
Exploring the Internals of Mobile Devices — Report from a One-day Workshop at TERI — by Jadine Lannon — last modified Dec 01, 2012 05:57 AM: On October 27, 2012, the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) organised a one-day workshop on exploring the internals of mobile technologies at the TERI Southern Regional Centre in Bangalore. The workshop received more than 140 registrants, of which approximately 40 attended. In this post, Jadine Lannon explores the discussions and the developments that took place at the workshop.
Comments on the Broadcast Treaty and Exceptions and Limitations for Libraries and Archives — by Smitha Krishna Prasad — last modified Dec 04, 2012 11:11 PM: This November at WIPO the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights was witness to a tough negotiation on the proposed Treaty providing access to copyrighted materials to visually impaired persons. In between these discussions, the SCCR also found time to have two short plenary sessions on the proposed broadcast treaty as well as working documents on exceptions for libraries and archives.
Comments on the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (Draft) — by Snehashish Ghosh — last modified Dec 01, 2012 03:36 PM: The Department of Science and Technology invited public comments on the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (Draft). Accordingly, the Centre for Internet and Society has made the following comments on the draft policy document.
Pervasive Mobile Technologies: Meet Our Mobile Devices! — by Jadine Lannon — last modified Dec 21, 2012 07:48 AM: As a part of the Pervasive Technologies: Access to Knowledge in the Marketplace research project, the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) is researching 12 mobile phone devices to generate a better understanding of the intellectual property (IP) implications of pervasive mobile technologies available in the Indian market. This post is an introduction to our 12 mobile phones.
Transcripts of Discussions at WIPO SCCR 25 — by Smitha Krishna Prasad — last modified Dec 05, 2012 12:58 AM: We are providing archival copies of the transcripts of the 25th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, which is being held in Geneva from November 19, 2012 to November 23, 2012.
ICOMM2012: International Communications and Electronics Fair — by Jadine Lannon — last modified Dec 04, 2012 06:37 AM: The seventh India International Communications and Electronics Fair (ICOMM2012) organized by CMAI Association of India was held at the NSIC Expo Grounds in New Delhi from September 14 to 15, 2012. Jadine Lannon attended the event, and shares us with some interesting and exciting new developments in ICT.
Super Cassettes v. MySpace — by Ujwala Uppaluri — last modified Oct 31, 2012 10:27 AM: The Delhi High Court’s judgment in Super Cassettes v. MySpace last July is worrying for a number of reasons. The court failed to appreciate the working of intermediaries online and disregard all pragmatic considerations involved. The consequences for free expression and particularly for file sharing by users of services online are especially unfavourable.
Access To Knowledge/Programme Plan — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Sep 30, 2012 01:25 PM: Pursuant to the announcement made on July 30, 2012 and as reflected in the FAQ accompanying the announcement, the India Program will become a project of the Access to Knowledge (A2K) program of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) an established non-profit organisation working in India whose own goals and objectives are in close alignment with that of the Wikimedia movement.
Feedback to Draft Copyright Rules, 2012 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Oct 04, 2012 04:53 AM: The Centre for Internet & Society submitted its written comments on the Draft Copyright Rules, 2012 to Mr. G.R. Raghavender, Registrar of Copyrights & Director (BP&CR), Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Pervasive Technologies: Access to Knowledge in the Marketplace — CIS’s Upcoming A2K Research Initiative — by Jadine Lannon — last modified Oct 30, 2012 06:23 AM: Pervasive technologies have flooded the Indian market and are changing the ways in which the average Indian accesses knowledge but very little is understood about these technologies, particularly when it comes to their legality. The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) plans to begin a research project that aims to understand how pervasive technologies interact with Intellectual Property laws and what can be done to protect these technologies from being labelled “illegal” and eradicated from the Asian market.
Consumers International IP Watchlist 2012 — India Report — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 16, 2012 10:23 AM: Pranesh Prakash prepared the India Report for Consumers International IP Watchlist 2012. The report was published on the A2K Network website.
CIS's Statement at SCCR 24 on Exceptions & Limitations for Libraries and Archives — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jul 25, 2012 10:54 AM: This was the statement delivered by Pranesh Prakash on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, at the 24th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights on the issue of exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives.
Transcripts of Discussions at WIPO SCCR 24 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jul 31, 2012 12:35 PM: We are providing archival copies of the transcripts of the 24th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, which is being held in Geneva from July 16 to 25, 2012.
CIS's Statement at SCCR 24 on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jul 23, 2012 03:02 PM: This was the statement read out by Pranesh Prakash at the 24th meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee for Copyright and Related Rights in Geneva, on Monday, July 23, 2012, specifically on the Chair's Non Paper on the Protection of Broadcasters which was released this morning.
India's Opening Statement on the Treaty for the Visually Impaired at SCCR 24 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jul 23, 2012 03:24 PM: This was the opening statement of the Indian delegation, delivered by G.R. Raghavender, on Thursday, July 19, 2012, at the 24th meeting of the SCCR at WIPO in Geneva. The statement called upon all countries to conclude textual work on the treaty and call for a Diplomatic Conference to finalize it. This statement received applause, which is highly unusual at the SCCR.
CIS's Statement at SCCR 24 on the Treaty for the Visually Impaired — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jul 22, 2012 12:01 PM: This was the statement read out by Pranesh Prakash at the 24th meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee for Copyright and Related Rights in Geneva, on Friday, July 20, 2012.
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Injunctions — by Lawrence Liang — last modified Jun 15, 2012 01:56 PM: The same ‘Ashok Kumar,' now restrained from infringing the copyright of the film, ‘3,' helped its signature song, ‘ Kolaveri,' go viral by downloading and copying it without any restraints, writes Lawrence Liang in this Op-ed published in the Hindu on May 23, 2012.
ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ನಿರ್ಬಂಧಗಳ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆ — by Sunil Abraham — last modified Jun 18, 2012 11:19 AM: ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಾನದ ಸ್ಥಾಪಕ ರಿಚರ್ಡ್ ಸ್ಟಾಲ್‌ಮನ್ ಡಿಆರ್‌ಎಂ (ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ರೈಟ್ಸ್ ಮ್ಯಾನೇಜ್‌ಮೆಂಟ್) ಎಂಬ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆಯನ್ನು `ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ರೆಸ್ಟ್ರಿಕ್ಷನ್ ಮ್ಯಾನೇಜ್ಮೆಂಟ್` ಎಂದು ಬಿಡಿಸಿಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅವರ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇದು ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ಹಕ್ಕುಗಳ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆಯಲ್ಲ. ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ನಿರ್ಬಂಧಗಳ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆ. ಈ ಡಿಆರ್‌ಎಂ ತಂತ್ರ ಬಳಕೆದಾರನ ಹಕ್ಕುಗಳನ್ನು ನಿಯಂತ್ರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
ಸೃಜನಶೀಲತೆಗೆ ಸಂದ ಗೌರವ — by Lawrence Liang — last modified Jun 18, 2012 11:22 AM: ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ಆವಿಷ್ಕಾರಗಳು `ಕೃತಿ ಸ್ವಾಮ್ಯ` ಎಂಬ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆಯನ್ನು ಅದರ ಮಾಮೂಲು ಅರ್ಥದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಳಸಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗದಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿವೆ. ತಡವಾಗಿಯಾದರೂ ಭಾರತದ ಸಂಸತ್ತು `ಕೃತಿ ಸ್ವಾಮ್ಯ`ದ ಹೊಸ ಅರ್ಥವನ್ನು ಪರಿಗಣಿಸುವ ತಿದ್ದುಪಡಿ ಮಸೂದೆಯೊಂದನ್ನು ಅಂಗೀಕರಿಸಿದೆ.
Copyright Amendment: Bad, but Could Have Been Much Worse — by Sunil Abraham — last modified Jun 15, 2012 12:29 PM: The changes to the Copyright Act protect the disabled - but are restrictive about cover versions and web freedom, writes Sunil Abraham in this article published in the Business Standard on June 10, 2012.
A Ludicrous Ban — by Achal Prabhala and Lawrence Liang — last modified Jun 04, 2012 04:22 AM: Achal Prabhala and Lawrence Liang have written an article for the Open Magazine about the bizarre ways in which the Internet is regulated in 21st century India.
Copyright Madness — by Lawrence Liang and Achal Prabhala — last modified May 30, 2012 03:46 AM: Prompted by courts and piracy-fearing businesses, Indian ISPs have taken down popular, legitimate websites. This Op-ed by Lawrence Liang and Achal Prabhala was published in the Indian Express on May 22, 2012.
Analysis of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Nov 12, 2013 02:13 PM: There are some welcome provisions in the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012, and some worrisome provisions. Pranesh Prakash examines five positive changes, four negative ones, and notes the several missed opportunities. The larger concern, though, is that many important issues have not been addressed by these amendments, and how copyright policy is made without evidence and often out of touch with contemporary realities of the digital era.
2012 Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest: Call for Participation and Save the Date — by Prasad Krishna — last modified May 02, 2012 05:05 AM: The Second Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest will take place in FGV Law School, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil from December 15 to 17, 2012. The theme for this year’s Congress will be “Setting the positive agenda in motion.” We invite applications to attend the Congress, including proposals to chair workshops or deliver a paper or presentation related to the Congress’s theme.
Expert Meeting on Freedom of Expression and Intellectual Property Rights — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Mar 16, 2012 07:41 AM: This report provides an overview of the discussion from the Expert Meeting on Freedom of Expression and Intellectual Property Rights, organized by ARTICLE 19 in London on November 18, 2011.
Patented Games — by Sunil Abraham — last modified Mar 08, 2012 12:14 PM: Some prefer Steve Jobs, patron saint of perfection, others prefer Nicholas Negroponte, messiah of the masses. While Mr Jobs may be guilty of contributing to the digital divide, Mr Negroponte may have contributed to bridging it with his innovation: the One Laptop Per Child, also known as the $100 laptop or XO. Sunil Abraham's column was published in the Economic Times on 8 March 2012.
Analysis of Copyright Expansion in the India-EU FTA (July 2010) — by Snehashish Ghosh — last modified Feb 20, 2012 08:21 AM: In this blog post, Snehashish Ghosh examines the copyright clauses in the July 2010 leak of the India-EU FTA, and points out how the EU's demands go beyond India's international obligations, and necessitate harmful changes in Indian law.
CIS Intervention on Future Work of the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 01, 2011 03:30 PM: The seventh session of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE) is being held in Geneva on November 30 and December 1, 2011. Pranesh Prakash intervened during the discussion of future work of the ACE with this comment.
CIS Hosts Scanned Version of George Orwell’s Books vs. Cigarettes — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Dec 01, 2011 01:31 PM: Verbindingen/Jonctions (V/J), the bi-annual multidisciplinary festival organised by Constant is taking place on December 1, 2011. Amateur scanning of books often raises a lot of questions, around the issue of copyright. For this V/J13 is scanning George Orwell’s Books vs. Cigarettes. The essay is in public domain in Russia, India and South Africa, but not in Europe and America due to copyright issues. CIS is hosting the scanned pages of the essay in public domain.
Comment by CIS at ACE on Presentation on French Charter on the Fight against Cyber-Counterfeiting — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 01, 2011 11:59 AM: The seventh session of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Advisory Committee on Enforcement is being held in Geneva on November 30 and December 1, 2011. Pranesh Prakash responded to a presentation by Prof. Pierre Sirinelli of the École de droit de la Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 on 'The French Charter on the Fight against Cyber-Counterfeiting of December 16, 2009' with this comment.
Statement of CIS on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty at the 23rd SCCR — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Nov 30, 2011 06:55 AM: The twenty-third session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is being held in Geneva from November 22, 2011 to December 2, 2011. Pranesh Prakash delivered this statement on a new proposal made by South Africa and Mexico (SCCR/23/6) on a treaty for broadcasters.
Of Jesters, Clowns and Pranksters: YouTube and the Condition of Collaborative Authorship — by Nishant Shah — last modified Dec 14, 2012 10:24 AM: The idea of a single author creating cinematic objects in a well-controlled scheme of support system and production/distribution infrastructure has been fundamentally challenged by the emergence of digital video sharing sites like YouTube, writes Nishant Shah in this peer reviewed essay published in the Journal of Moving Images, Number 8, December 2009.
CIS-TWN Analysis of WIPO Treaty for the Print Disabled (SCCR/22/15) — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Oct 12, 2011 08:29 AM: CIS and the Third World Network (TWN) conducted a quick analysis of the "Consensus document on an international instrument on limitations and exceptions for persons with print disabilities presented by Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, and the United States of America" presented as WIPO document numbered SCCR/22/15.
Calling Out the BSA on Its BS — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Sep 14, 2011 06:16 PM: The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is trying to pull wool over government officials' eyes by equating software piracy with tax losses. Pranesh Prakash points out how that argument lacks cogency, and that tax losses would be better averted if BSA's constituent companies just decided to pay full taxes in India.
Photocopying the past — by Sunil Abraham — last modified Sep 25, 2011 08:06 PM: There is no single correct position when it comes to intellectual property or IP. In fact, there are at least five correct positions that you could possibly adopt based on who you are — a pro-creator position, a pro-entrepreneur position, a pro-government position, a pro-consumer position and a public interest position.
Copyright Amendment Bill in Parliament — by Nirmita Narasimhan — last modified Aug 30, 2011 09:26 AM: The Copyright Amendment Bill is expected to be presented in the Rajya Sabha by the Minister for Human Resource and Development, Kapil Sibal today afternoon. The much awaited Bill (since it has been in the offing since 2006) has undergone significant changes since its initial appearance.
Govt for Legalising Parallel Import of Copyright Works; Publishers Oppose — by Shamnad Basheer — last modified Aug 30, 2011 10:19 AM: Section 2(m) legalises the parallel imports of books and other copyrighted material into India and was part of the initial Copyright Amendment Bill introduced in the Parliament of India in 2010.
Don't Shoot the Messenger: Speech on Intermediary Liability at 22nd SCCR of WIPO — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jun 01, 2012 03:01 PM: This is a speech made by Pranesh Prakash at an side-event co-organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Internet Society on intermediary liability, to coincide with the release of Prof. Lillian Edwards's WIPO-commissioned report on 'Role and Responsibility of the Internet Intermediaries in the Field of Copyright'.
Statement of CIS, India, on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty at the 22nd SCCR — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:41 AM: The twenty-second session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is being held in Geneva from June 15 to June 24, 2011. Nirmita Narasimhan and Pranesh Prakash are attending the conference. CIS delivered its statement, on the Broadcast Treaty, and made it available in print form as well.
Putting a Lid on Royalty Outflows — How the RBI can Help Reduce India's IP Costs — by Sanjana Govil — last modified Jan 26, 2012 05:11 PM: While entrepreneurs, IP rights-holders and everyone else who has a stake continue to voice their opinions on the appropriate shape that the Indian IP regime ought to take, they tend to narrow their discussions to the language of substantive IP laws. However, there are regulations that cannot be found in the Patent Act, Copyright Act or Trademarks Act which nevertheless have an impact on how much one is paying for intellectual property. Paying attention to these external factors might just provide a simple solution to your IP woes.
Consumers International IP Watchlist 2011 — India Report — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified May 29, 2014 05:52 AM: Pranesh Prakash prepared the India Report for the Consumers International IP Watchlist 2011. The report was published on the A2K Network website.
Comments to the Ministry on WIPO Broadcast Treaty (March 2011) — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 14, 2012 10:29 AM: As a follow up to a stakeholder meeting called by the MHRD on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty, CIS provided written comments on the April 2007 Non-Paper of the WIPO Broadcast Treaty, emphasising the need for a signal-based approach to be taken on the Broadcast Treaty, and making it clear that India should continue to oppose the creation of new rights for webcasters.
Pirates, Plagiarisers, Publishers — by Prashant Iyengar — last modified May 29, 2014 05:55 AM: This article attempts to rescue not by denying the charges of plagiarism, but by charting an alternative trajectory of plagiarism so that each successive instance does not amplify our sense of embarrassment and crisis in the academy. The article by Prashant Iyengar was published in the Economic & Political Weekly, February 26, 2011, Vol XLVI No 9.
Exhaustion: Imports, Exports and the Doctrine of First Sale in Indian Copyright Law — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified May 29, 2014 06:18 AM: This article by Pranesh Prakash was published in the Manupatra Intellectual Property Reports, February 2011, Volume 1, Part 2, pp. 149-160. In this short note, the author argues that Indian courts have fundamentally misunderstood the doctrine of first sale, and consequently have wrongly held that parallel importation is disallowed by Indian law. He further looks at the ingenuity displayed by a court in prohibiting export of low-priced editions from India, and comes to the conclusion that this is also wrong in law. He believes there is a way out of this quagmire that we find ourselves in due to judicial inventions: that of accepting a proposed amendment to the Copyright Act.
Thomas Abraham's Rebuttal on Parallel Importation — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:47 AM: We engaged in an e-mail conversation with Thomas Abraham, the managing director of Hachette India, on the issue of parallel importation of books into India. We thought it would be in the public interest to publish a substantive part of that conversation. In this post he points at great length how our arguments are faulty. While we still believe that he doesn't succeed, we hope this will clarify matters a bit.
Indian Law and "Parallel Exports" — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:47 AM: Recently, a lawyer for the publishing industry made the claim that allowing for parallel importation would legally allow for the exports of low-priced edition. Here we present a legal rebuttal of that claim.
Why Parallel Importation of Books Should Be Allowed — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Feb 01, 2019 05:41 PM: There has been much controversy lately with some publishers trying to stop the government from amending s.2(m) of the Indian Copyright Act, clarifying that a parallel import will not be seen as an "infringing copy". This blog post argues that the government should, keeping in mind the larger picture, still go ahead and legalise parallel imports.
New Release of IPR Chapter of India-EU Free Trade Agreement — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Sep 22, 2011 12:34 PM: A draft of the IPR chapter of the EU-India FTA, made publicly available now for the first time, provides insight into India's response in July 2010 to several EU proposals on intellectual property protection and enforcement.
Problems Remain with Standing Committee's Report on Copyright Amendments — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Sep 06, 2011 07:50 AM: The Rajya Sabha Standing Committee on Human Resource Development (under which ministry copyright falls) recently tabled their report on the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010 before Parliament. There is much to be applauded in the report, including the progressive stand that the Committee has taken on the issue of providing access by persons with disabilities. This post, however, will concern itself with highlighting some of the problems with that report, along with some very important considerations that got missed out of the entire amendment debate.
CIS Submission on Draft Patent Manual 2010 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified May 29, 2014 06:47 AM: The patent office has released a revised version of the Draft Manual of Patent Practice and Procedure. Section 8.03.06.10 of the Manual deals with patenting of computer programmes. CIS is happy to note the many improvements in this draft of the Manual from the previous version. CIS made its submission along with a few suggestions that it thinks would make the document even better.
Statement of CIS on the Work of the Committee in the 21st SCCR — by Nirmita Narasimhan — last modified May 29, 2014 06:57 AM: The twenty-first session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights was held in Geneva from 8 to 12 November 2010. Nirmita Narasimhan attended the conference and represented the Centre for Internet and Society.
We’ve All Got Some Baggage — by Lawrence Liang — last modified May 29, 2014 07:22 AM: America’s newest trade agreement is not going to kill only iPods. The article appeared in the Tehelka Magazine Vol 7, Issue 45, Dated November 13, 2010
Seminar on Software Patent and the Commons — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Oct 23, 2011 02:22 PM: A pre-grant opposition has been filed against a software patent application filed in the patent office by Certicom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Research in Motion (RIM), manufacturers of Blackberry. The opposition was filed on August 31, 2010 by the Software Freedom Law Centre which has recently expanded its operations to India. This exciting development was announced by Mishi Choudhary from SFLC on the lines of the seminar on “Software Patents and the Commons” organised on 1 September 2010 in Delhi jointly by SFLC, the Centre for Internet and Society, the Society for Knowledge Commons and Red Hat. Filing more such oppositions to software patents in India was in the pipeline and this is just the beginning of a movement to take on monopolisation of knowledge and ideas through patenting software, the organisers said.
First Post-Bilski Decision - Software Patent Rejected — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 23, 2011 03:24 AM: In the first decision post-Bilski, the Board of Patents Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) rejected a software patent claimed by Hewlett-Packard. The ruling in this case has buttressed the fact that the Bilski decision furthered the cause of narrowing the patentability of software even though the Supreme Court of the United States totally avoided mentioning software patents or the applicability of the machine or transformation test for software patents in its decision.
The Bilski Case - Impact on Software Patents — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 23, 2011 03:24 AM: The Supreme Court of the United States gave its decision in Bilski v Kappos on 28 June, 2010. In this case the petitioners’ patent application sought protection for a claimed invention that explains how commodities buyers and sellers in the energy market can protect, or hedge, against the risk of price changes. The Court in affirming the rejection by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit also held that the machine- or-transformation test is not necessarily the sole test of patentability. The Court’s ruling of abstract ideas as unpatentable and its admission that patents do not necessarily promote innovation and may sometimes limit competition and stifle innovation have provided a ray of hope. In the light of the developments, the Bilski decision as far as patentability of software is concerned may not be totally insignificant, says Krithika Dutta Narayana.
Privacy and the Indian Copyright Act, 1857 as Amended in 2010 — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 23, 2011 03:25 AM: In this post the author examines the issue of privacy in light of the Indian Copyright Act, 1857 as amended by the Copyright Amendment Bill in 2010. Four key questions are examined in detail and the author gives suitable recommendations for each of the questions that arise.
Analysis of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Sep 21, 2011 06:01 AM: CIS analyses the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010, from a public interest perspective to sift the good from the bad, and importantly to point out what crucial amendments should be considered but have not been so far.
A Guide to Key IPR Provisions of the Proposed India-European Union Free Trade Agreement — by Glover Wright — last modified Aug 30, 2011 01:06 PM: The Centre for Internet and Society presents a guide for policymakers and other stakeholders to the latest draft of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement, which likely will be concluded by the end of the year and may hold serious ramifications for Indian businesses and consumers.
The 2010 Special 301 Report Is More of the Same, Slightly Less Shrill — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Oct 03, 2011 05:37 AM: Pranesh Prakash examines the numerous flaws in the Special 301 from the Indian perspective, to come to the conclusion that the Indian government should openly refuse to acknowledge such a flawed report. He notes that the Consumers International survey, to which CIS contributed the India report, serves as an effective counter to the Special 301 report.
Exceptions and Limitations in Indian Copyright Law for Education: An Assessment — by Lawrence Liang — last modified Oct 20, 2011 02:08 PM: This paper examines the nature of exceptions and limitations in copyright law for the purposes of the use of copyrighted materials for education. It looks at the existing national and international regime, and argues for why there is a need for greater exceptions and limitations to address the needs of developing countries. The paper contextualizes the debate by looking at the high costs of learning materials and the impediment caused to e-learning and distance education by strong copyright regimes.
Technological Protection Measures in the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified May 17, 2012 04:51 PM: In this post Pranesh Prakash conducts a legal exegesis of section 65A of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010, which deals with the stuff that enables 'Digital Rights/Restrictions Management', i.e., Technological Protection Measures. He notes that while the provision avoids some mistakes of the American law, it still poses grave problems to consumers, and that there are many uncertainties in it still.
When Copyright Goes Bad — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:37 AM: A part of the Access to Knowledge Project, this short film by Consumers International is available on DVD and online at A2Knetwork.org/film.
Arguments Against Software Patents in India — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Mar 13, 2012 10:43 AM: CIS believes that software patents are harmful for the software industry and for consumers. In this post, Pranesh Prakash looks at the philosophical, legal and practical reasons for holding such a position in India. This is a slightly modified version of a presentation made by Pranesh Prakash at the iTechLaw conference in Bangalore on February 5, 2010, as part of a panel discussing software patents in India, the United States, and the European Union.
CIS Statement on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty at SCCR 19 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Feb 01, 2012 09:07 AM: This statement on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty was delivered on December 17, 2010 at the 19th session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights by Nirmita Narasimhan on behalf of CIS.
Piracy Studies in India — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:35 AM: The word ‘piracy’ assumes negative connotations. In the imagination of an ordinary middle class urban Indian it is linked directly to the informal economy, crime and even terrorism. But the ‘pirated good’, that is, the ‘optical disc’ is not seen with a similar perception. The ‘CD’ is the access key to the cultural wealth of music, cinema and software contained inside. This paradox is created in the sphere of information and knowledge that is created by anti-piracy agencies using extensive reports and statistics that are published every year. These statistics often have a tendency to create a feeling of ‘shock and awe’ for the readers that see these numbers splashed across headlines of news and media reports. Till 2004, the creation of numbers conjuring losses up to millions was mostly the domain of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), which is now supplemented by reports commissioned to consultancy groups like McKinsey, PWC, and Ernst & Young. This article by Siddharth Chadha traces a few reports that have come to become popular benchmarks of piracy in the past few years.
Enforcement of Anti-piracy Laws by the Indian Entertainment Industry — by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:35 AM: This brief note by Siddharth Chadha seeks to map out the key actors in enforcement of copyright laws. These bodies not only investigate cases of infringement and piracy relating to the entertainment industry, but tie up with the police and IP law firms to pursue actions against the offenders through raids (many of them illegal) and court cases. Siddharth notes that the discourse on informal networks and circuits of distribution of cultural goods remains hijacked with efforts to contain piracy as the only rhetoric which safeguards the business interests of big, mostly multinational, media corporations.
IJLT-CIS Law Essay Competition — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:35 AM: The Indian Journal of Law and Technology and CIS are conducting a legal essay competition to encourage law students across India to think critically about the techno-legal issues facing us today. Students can write on any of the four themes, with the top prize being Rs. 7500 and an internship at CIS.
Access to online information and knowledge – advancing human rights and democracy — by Radha Rao — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:34 AM: An article by Achal Prabhala in GISW 2009 (Global Information Society Watch, 2009)
At the end of the niche optical pirate — by Siddharth Chadha — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:44 AM: In this blog post, Siddharth Chaddha goes enquiring into the modus operandi of a video pirate / film lover / businessman in Bangalore's famed National Market.
World IT Forum 2009 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:44 AM: At the World IT Forum, Pranesh Prakash made a brief presentation on intellectual property rights, how ill-suited they are to be considered "property" rights, and how they have been foisted upon the developing world.
Fallacies, Lies, and Video Pirates — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:43 AM: At a recent conference on counterfeiting and piracy, industry representatives variously pushed for stiffer laws for IP violation, more stringent enforcement of existing IP laws, and championed IP as the most important thing for businesses today. This blog post tries to show how their arguments are flawed.
Civil Society Letter Against TRIPS-Plus IP Enforcement — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Sep 22, 2011 12:48 PM: This open letter was sent to the president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and high-level government officials on the eve of the Third International Conference on Counterfeiting & Piracy organized by CII. This conference aims to strengthen the enforcement of intellectual property rights and thus creating an imbalance in the protection that intellectual property offers to both those who own it as well as those who don't.
Emerging Bit Torrent Trends in India — by Siddharth Chadha — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:44 AM: Internet has been a revelation ever since its introduction. The writer in this blog examines how the progress made by Internet based technologies could never be reversed.
Are you Game? — by Siddharth Chadha — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:44 AM: In a preview on the rise and expectations in the Gaming industry, this post looks at emerging trends in India.
Consumers International IP Watch List 2009 — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:42 AM: In response to the US Special 301 report, Consumers International brought out an IP Watch List. CIS contributed the India Country Report for the Watch List.
'Internet and Deliberative Democracy': Panel Discussion Featuring Sunil Abraham, Philippe Aigrain and Mario Losano — by Sanchia de Souza — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:42 AM: Sunil Abraham, Director (Policy), Centre for Internet and Society, attended the first edition of the Biennale Democrazia in Turin, 22-26 April 2009. He participated in a panel discussion on the topic 'Internet and Deliberative Democracy'. This blog entry links to a video of his contribution to the discussion.
Letter on South Africa's IPRs from Publicly Financed R&D Regulations — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:42 AM: Being interested in legislations in developing nations styled after the United States' Bayh-Dole Act, CIS responded to the call issued by the South African Department of Science and Technology for comments to the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Regulations.
Of my struggle with a Broadband Connection — by Siddharth Chadha — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:44 AM: This is a reflection on my experiences with installing a broadband Internet connection at home. The closing post of an interview is delayed since Jamie and Peter are traveling.
WIPO Broadcast Treaty and Webcasting — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:42 AM: On Friday, 8 May 2009, at Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting held a stakeholders' briefing meeting on the Broadcast Treaty that has been on the table at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The purpose of that meeting was to inform the relevant stakeholders of the developments in Geneva, as well as to garner input from them regarding the stance to be adopted by India at the WIPO. Pranesh Prakash from the Centre for Internet and Society participated and made a presentation on webcasting, highlighting the differences between webcasting and broadcasting, and arguing that webcasting should not be part of the WIPO Broadcast Treaty.
The Dark Fibre Files: 'Steal This Film' and the Pirate Bay Trial — by Sanchia de Souza — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:41 AM: In this posting, the fifth blog entry on the making of the film 'Dark Fibre' by Jamie King and Peter Mann, Siddharth Chadha discusses the Swedish trial of the Pirate Bay, which brought up some of the debates on intellectual property rights and piracy that were highlighted in 'Steal This Film'.
‘Housing the Democratic City’: Panel Discussion Featuring Bill Dunster, Cino Zucchi and Sunil Abraham — by Sanchia de Souza — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:42 AM: Sunil Abraham, Director (Policy), Centre for Internet and Society, attended the first edition of the Biennale Democrazia in Turin, 22-26 April 2009. He participated in a panel discussion on the topic 'Housing the Democratic City'. This blog entry links to videos of his contribution to the discussion and reproduces the promotional material on the event as a whole.
The 'Dark Fibre' Files: Cable TV Technology for Dummies — by Sanchia de Souza — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:41 AM: In the fourth entry documenting the making of 'Dark Fibre', a film by Jamie King and Peter Mann, Siddharth Chadha simplifies cable TV technology for the uninitiated.
The 'Dark Fibre' Files: The Grey Market Deficit — by Sanchia de Souza — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:41 AM: In this, the third entry in his series discussing the making of 'Dark Fibre' by Jamie King and Peter Mann, Siddharth Chadha gives an overview of piracy in the pay TV industry.
The Project Vidya Story: 'Study Locally, Learn Globally' — by Sanchia de Souza — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:41 AM: This is first of a series of blog entries by Ajay Narendran, the architect of Vidya and former Content Manager and Webmaster, Amrita University, guest blogging on the CIS website. His blog series will attempt to capture the experience of building an intranet archive at Amrita University, Coimbatore.
The 'Dark Fibre' Files: Interview with a Cable Operator — by Sanchia de Souza — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:41 AM: This is the second in a series of posts documenting the making of the film 'Dark Fibre' by Jamie King and Peter Mann, in Bangalore. In this post, Siddharth Chadha shares an interview he had with Thyagraj, a cable operator in Austin Town, to throw some light on the world of the cable operator, the subject of the film.
The 'Dark Fibre' Files: Interview with Jamie King and Peter Mann — by Siddharth Chadha — last modified Aug 04, 2011 04:41 AM: Film-makers Jamie King (producer/director of the 'Steal This Film' series) and Peter Mann, in conversation with Siddharth Chadha, on 'Dark Fibre', their latest production, being filmed in Bangalore
Lecture by Eben Moglen and Mishi Choudhary — by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 23, 2011 02:55 AM: The Software Freedom Law Center, National Law School, and the Centre for Internet and Society organised a lecture by Mishi Choudhary and Eben Moglen for students of NLS on Saturday, December 13, 2008.
Proposed WIPO Treaty for Improved Access for the Visually Impaired and Reading Disabled — by Nirmita Narasimhan — last modified Aug 26, 2011 05:44 AM: The Centre for Internet and Society is organising a signature campaign in India to lobby Indian government support for the proposed WIPO Treaty for Improved Access for the Visually Impaired and Reading Disabled. Signatories so far include Vidyavriksha, National Association for the Blind (Delhi), Saksham, National Federation for the Blind, Samarthanam (Bangalore), Mitrajyoti (Bangalore), Accessibility, Score Foundation, Alternative Law Forum (Bangalore), Acrodelon Technologies, Barrier Break Technologies and Enable India. This is a call for all Indian organisations and individuals to become part of this global movement to secure the rights to full and complete access and participation of the visually and reading disabled community of the world.
WIPO SCCR 41: Statement by CIS on the Protection of Broadcasting Organisations Agenda Item — by Anubha Sinha — last modified Jun 29, 2021 01:19 PM: Anubha Sinha delivered a statement on behalf of CIS, on day 1 of the 41st WIPO SCCR session on the Protection of Broadcasting Organisations Agenda Item.

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