The Centre for Internet and Society
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CIS Statement in WIPO SCCR 43
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-statement-in-wipo-sccr-43
<b>Shweta Mohandas delivered a statement on behalf of CIS, on day 1 of the 43rd WIPO SCCR session on the Broadcast Treaty. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><br />Thank you, Mr. Chair.<br /><br />I’m speaking on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society, India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The second revised draft text for the WIPO Broadcasting Organisations Treaty presents certain concerns.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The absence of a provision on term allows perpetual rights to both traditional broadcasters and streamers. Further, the provision on limitations and exceptions is narrow, and not mandatory. It undermines the existence of open-licensing models on the internet. In the absence of a strong mandatory limitations and exceptions provision, the text gives broadcasters rights over openly-licensed content and works in the public domain.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Thank you.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-statement-in-wipo-sccr-43'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-statement-in-wipo-sccr-43</a>
</p>
No publisherShweta Mohandas and Anubha SinhaCopyrightAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2023-03-28T14:12:21ZBlog EntryJune and July Newsletter
http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/june-july-2021-newsletter
<b>The newsletter presents the work done in the months of June and July 2021.</b>
<h3>Announcements</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We are pleased to announce the launch of a <strong>seminar series</strong> to showcase research around digital rights and technology policy, with a focus on the Global South. The CIS seminar series will be a venue for researchers to share works-in-progress, exchange ideas, identify avenues for collaboration, and curate research. It will also seek to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on research exchange, and foster collaborations among researchers and academics from diverse geographies. For more details on the first session, <strong>on Information Disorders</strong>, and to register, click here: [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/5rYRQ0U6yOrzlX_5e9iqnD_UB7xRMkmO8EVgecX5S9vDUhOLzn5WpJ0OxgmH2vkh7APoOqCGaRVN7fbP4hfGnUPT63lb2O87rMGdk4RE4xpKcYzABQ2MhfjmOr_3FkIJtbxITjKFXrZRVlI-An9WPxyiN-QtsOJjpxV0baaFxLqDmy_TnlrW_FLKnXYXkTNBbxlIifakqN_m9fPpBaaaMJF_KetoeIUtNQIoHYTtcIQhNoelJ8-I28gyVM1-9w61Ew">link</a>]</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We are also hiring for two full time remote positions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Research Associate: Access to Knowledge Programme: Apply by <strong>August 13</strong> [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/tn9z7DynIuxWFSSRGmZ50s_HYg65AwLX75HcYf9qBiEJsrkj6teE0WzDGHWCezRU7S0d4Li9WxClerez9wuhwJFHRpki4ynQYqrFoAh7dKnqJKulAW_7VyZIrgxsBri_sYFlGanbqT0IW-9HdYDbVbqyjvgAUl06_OlaHwOMDzO833kR5cT3BwaLUSDOhZqfFvwVNZav-DBH1q9Kr9bWXdtPe_g_wDm-PW3lMxudyF7SKkCLrGceKAec1QiU">link</a>]</li>
<li>Communication Designer: Apply by <strong>August 20</strong> [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/lskNSP_MjDCNYOT2PmiuZiGB29gga3crwxuXyJYEF8rdPYDDerNnNYnnCV-GG8rdnyqkxU4eJofgQXU1-iS2IPRRGRRtBXXEaUSVB3mioQNSRwwIecWmm2TIFkfi2fAL7grkxRKKKAX2PG87TiWk8hdmOUqcqtEX9dqbsudTQ3xgmZOio5BOC4GL6mxMzN_9Q5_YzOzZxSZzpT7SMm1J_HASTKNuUktcaESwbMV7PO5sPic41ymaDT8">link</a>]</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Emerging Technology</h3>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Following the MCA notification <strong>mandating disclosures of crypto currency</strong> holdings by companies, Aryan Gupta, in an issue brief, discusses the policy landscape in the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Japan with particular emphasis upon <strong>definition, accounting practices, and taxation, with respect to crypto currencies.</strong> [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/IapPj_hXCzk7v6Hf21yy36-Sz8hRKHv8zkjWHYoTB7Tu5pnKDAw25QMx5zjerDAadU3BAHF2npDH_q9m81nhsGEbEBQqfWIksFuU7FqAIoREOxap2dkrtGy-X49B1okL_K-zz4zOgG1nyg6ct03r-xSZw_C94Cc8MzubQ2tzmsZjEYGRlxHywlK8a7988SepnX7wbWd2aDt6rhgDNxSBU6AJh3DeygvFctc-wWW9F-Q5e81ADlC9Xei9IoYdHlJrbvOMikdM2WlvJLzb0vnVlDJqd_7x4B7_XdshOYFQ4YRljV4O">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">We submitted comments in response to the Supreme Court E-committee’s draft vision document of <strong>phase III of the E-courts project</strong>. Aman Nair, Arinjay Vyas, Pallavi Bedi and Garima Saxena submitted their general comments and recommendations, and comparatively analysed the <strong>integration of digital technology into the judiciary in both South Asia and Africa</strong>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/a-ADiN4WA0-BN9-GzZs_TH-rDZ6m1ii-4HzEzLfXdwVXmGyrIYBcuU7EMPd865oDaqEYSihJoqjxTyuC4usIwryJorATCH47YWEUlUAXce8b2TudJcdAsWryfDvls0WhJFQ9TTw4Bt5ZPfdDmToylNX9ECLuOvO851uSycsDHetWiQhQXaDELUcbQKXBZEbhxtFos2ugg4PHwLXNhwM9iKMb1Q-4OuONy6YcnpFcB3fVUeLvWVp4aBEngQVUnvfLfeVdMvGWNoDk">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Google’s new Privacy Sandbox platform promises to <strong>preserve anonymity when serving tailored advertising</strong>. But does this new framework help users in any way? Maria Jawed’s analysis reveals that Google’s gambit to <strong>reorient the ad-tech ecosystem under the garb of privacy</strong>, ultimately ends up undermining it. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/pwRhJ3bFqQSxSMBZ-qNYKO59aoQ95F8ro9x-8vBy2QDQiBpNFb-qLH4I8Ph-o65OT_bJnNcMoJzFBig6nxqFFcT7qtvR0b6bakvkH4pQRJalgbpLCylKEblBaFkiAudZPamJaz7XIeQ3mMQNQcnk9jxhjGW4yu6YFB8-h_G4nYcZg9lJCj35EZMG-bdl79YR6VEUb9jVxmNFoDXuTiUBCHjeSqP8yqPgHS40nzZgSqD7JMoGiSPT6G7K1xwQUBQLKzlCjKGGoaioxOOWS7qw8BrAQtuKIc4xxRvos-IkyJUA0g1W8wUqjNK7NvYR">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Pandemic technology is taking a toll on data privacy, especially in the absence of any legal framework; these tools are being used for purposes beyond managing the pandemic. In an article published in the <i>Deccan Herald</i>, Aman Nair and Pallavi Bedi argue that <strong>India’s digital response to the pandemic</strong> has stoked concerns that surveillance could pose threats to the privacy of the personal data collected. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/Aye_SwuSiE165Jg5KCM8Xlu9VfO971hqjgMyX4Gv278-mjdbOrJ-pT_WYUbbFG0344IvZPu_ZqcvDp0hcVjfGVaWGAhKvBZDinhfhGSD7VvAE53bWwBah-W8vKt_3F0VP70pUKqESr5WztG-fPEOtB94MghogG528WknuMCtyA29jFZg7JvA2Qy1mR4MHAwQq2tJjvzyA_woJHqaQ2zW9at0DVmsSszAoApTe76XUE-ZoPMUtpNXT464bp-CYx1vY0jeFHyECbR6gHkoBNl-h4pwjkz2i9yOaOntXmNuf1kTX2ARhZpiMNjSmnYMf_5K_vEoGzQK0w1N6CuYG9dHLX2l">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">In a piece for <i>The Wire</i>, Aman Nair analyses <strong>Tether, a lesser known crypto currency</strong> that is at the heart of a $3 trillion market. Issued by Tether Limited, Tether forms the foundation for modern day crypto trading and could potentially be one of the <strong>biggest schemes in financial history</strong>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/YKCj-XnMRae1xKW-I5Vc2QZ531_WbOyKyzDAaHwXjqatVsRL9KTiy0LW50cP7Thc5zIV1vTZpRlnJuXzfYGNyOH92MtVSacioSMhehA-8TpG62qt1HMjOndXVcukp5TrJ_Z4jhyr_B0qg7hItuk5fJ9-Kw1Hh-SiRjvYGdVX_ZD2dY8NxTfKn4f7GnqP2bzHT3HWNO9yPzA6KfVPSawYFVLyyIf46leO7oJ5SIKyT4MawaPTtu9FDH5nfhMMgdm9YIFYIkuc12ZF8vargG4gMd608s5mt8kg1hpub4d3pi3o">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">India has 500 million internet users — over a third of its total population — making it the country with the <strong>second largest number of internet users</strong> after China. With this comes several kinds of digital threats that an average digital consumer in India must regularly contend with. Pranav M.B. attempts to identify the <strong>existing state of digital safety in India</strong>, with a report that maps digital threats in the country. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/7DnN6eodtvhnJdNwrTh3BU4_wJCm2_Ct9eG7-nmis2QkS4qgiiX4--Qa0TTqxqJqUNHmn3xnedwSoNGVRd0smQAgaFGQ1PLpfwVhmYPO4vaXGiF0dkcRjZTHk1W5mCRTZ4CpIx2zKt4yn1WKAy3dIBxa-xnoEQMUY4YrZRqeQr1M_JwHV3KmHWG2J1CgmXUdY13h6bQ9QEDL16a5G-eN6zH8ttyLM2kXF30BnXgkAL11Sl_vZs9AdeR_UoDQJKObf3BEoq8">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Since last year, there have been regular questions around the <strong>anti-competitive practices</strong> of digital platforms. After 46 US states filed an antitrust case against Facebook along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in December 2020, Kamesh Shekar analyzed these developments in a blog post. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/svyv1CoITzbqrsIl54oOKHsVb5xbZsOjr-IIfJndIFs4FbasMTa8xPr308vsVz_owTEDCl52kc-B-8gqND7dedFPmINs25UkG8kwkeYNcktOKUUty9Zms5UqyAXnyBUFkrbccLYTL8X7DtYXy9UCoLj6i9kGiUgJyNR_ePM-32LsWT2dzMRvY3MLjtyTTeWzqv1kPYcud-kpCxX9zMid4KJZIY7fJSLCsCPiXvrcc5RjQ6wO8SxOlNzRwDLztrG9MlWjBAOom4m32Hc3Az86wUcL5h_dTnpcqiHVCjudMiD2Wz9hKAcXbBF-mMlrTS61GXYC3B9PEMLilqy1XdCSLA">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Recently, the Indian government mandated <strong>online messaging providers to enable identification of originators of messages on their platforms</strong>. In an academic paper for the <i>NUJS Law Review</i>, Gurshabad Grover, Tanaya Rajwade and Divyank Katira conduct a legal and constitutional analysis of this ‘traceability’ requirement, how it can be implemented, and how these methods come with serious costs to usability, security, and privacy. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/7VVDI4qoefdH1M0wYht5ypELl3sgVp1Sbz2TM_DsnX0l0o2wb-2Jq0wob7as43ltZn6ZssVx21Kb6WNIz16SwxuNYxLMwFaVL7Yqu-8eX3FzktAgtzePud71Rw38aDqYPUcb7aIzIkcrEgohiTTqr4KBZglu-g5Vc21w3pwXDKyjSXh_jk_8EIqLlZ2GF5ItEZspJwQGD9VzftHVEmz5AdqcK0Zcar_OOU9nGP8JrckN9xehbcAxzJ9V7lbKaLa6fVq_xbwLO2UqdClq7XIpCoUf9EgkKQ">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The National Digital Health Mission: Health Data Management Policy seeks to establish a digital health ecosystem by creating a <strong>unique health identity</strong> (UHID) for every Indian citizen. Pallavi Bedi points out that hasty implementation of the policy without adequate safeguards not only risks the <strong>privacy and security of medical data</strong>, but also undermines trust in the system leading to low uptake. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/I2XtCVqE0YUtaHHNBuG2SqhPciFDA8vAFssL8OFfrAIIw4IF4i0pC5aKw-bZofPUZI2o59tp6OVhScUGULq-yqLWvlZRi8AvmUhsS6gOvkWJJnC3Jpjyu5u2I2wysy-Q4Kt4TAOMgvcyr49ledwzRKHEo0lsRhQdFZ4VJMq10oyuB5bMF0vIWCJ3VqXUrb41hRJI5OUhxzXiGZmznPSy0p-gua0i5SvyeIn-uZTQjOFvdP5He9mT3HSsaw">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">In our comments to the proposed amendments to the <strong>Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020</strong>, our analysis focuses on eight points: Definitions and Registration, Compliance, Data Protection and Surveillance, Flash Sales, Unfair Trade Practices, Jurisdictional Issues with Competition Law, Compliance with International Trade Law and Liabilities of Marketplace E-commerce Entities. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/KsxrVD9CtofFFSJKNnNl4rbZSQJxomJbHYtB6gaF-CJrz6NTc3iLI__BZ3Af7DRwDzklM6bD3o3OU8Z9g2llAOWtrNsQdWfxmaky4BZfyHArp59Ciryun36-inqvCvTtCz4MfM_SxYe7DWZQjbigMwPTuyM1nTjfuZZESbCU0kHL5uxK09aQvMmYUfBPfBjrUuCPSnz1q_SHSOh38kHHRw6JdIuOl-FX_Fu_pSAFCPpBCjmoqiyRpWbgQQw3C8dbSnJ9sMWXbopXwWS99f4vPqMGK6Tn7w6tWJqmQa8hA3wAQsH8wJgl315nOQ">link</a>]</li>
</ol>
<h3>Freedom of Expression, Intermediary Liability and Information Disorders</h3>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The recent “Infodemic” clearly shows that <strong>disinformation costs people’s lives</strong>. CIS, and the Global Disinformation Index have published a report that examines <strong>the risk of disinformation on digital news platforms in India</strong>, creating an index that is intended to serve donors and stakeholders with a neutral assessment of news sites that they can utilise to defund disinformation. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/oAbyvMS6qTJApmJnnokcclFKfhiXT90qwxve7vAzjNgoVJE7zL3znp9z-jVBaY_A_UghvzrqrbzPyQ8MWgNOqFX_zmz-LXX_QXxpTHcJCq0iQbudFAskKA4MQbW9ipPMHHkvCZ4sjD9YJ-f76ZHCOVs8aTp09SRza6UxxFqz2Lf-wyXOBkjjnSojLEnIzg_6Xyg-MV80GnR0MyptpLT6Ox44jMpuKSDNkziRqXdVFv2UiHFPUq5_kQFItEunUPazzjbXiO6aT6InqGhlHTpBpFR1ojSmP1YOtTCl7efQ-b_jHIbk-BBXDoDE4JF-TskvA8NvEln98dD-0ADQRopsvLp9XWDGiQ">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Torsha Sarkar, Gurshabad Grover, Raghav Ahooja, Pallavi Bedi and Divyank Katira examine the legality and constitutionality of the <strong>Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021</strong>, highlighting potential benefits and harms that may arise from the rules, and making recommendations to retain the rules within constitutional bounds, and retain consistency with human rights based approaches to content regulation. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/xeCVOWx8opFVXsJsk8tGp7BqtYUkK2zovJDarS6GLbKTR6VL0JLLSA-ap81tloriYQLLg6Cv1HxAws110HUv2UUabdK0aCbOvdeL2AtTWGD4zL7LEsC1gAIHyvP5DCYWo8flbZwKL0UNrMa-Bp8mmAOPTNTaHHyHjt6SyvidPNrc2nvjuwWNDsgPITp_PBAYDBmfwu02GfVr14URroyiEeqExwha0b0RlSPhrunshSDIXND6-AaBkVuGJ8VdnE-bMD7FHdAa559EsTcyhmnPiIYanR9fmV6UQHb7Q65yD7jENV3-lbzRCkAjki09Qvia1nxacxBIWHb-w3_PlbB7GkJXbl8_qVZHEWhyzTnAxVoGA-je-7W-x-eFOetThpo">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The passage of the <strong>Intermediary Liability Rules, 2021</strong>, has also formalized the legal requirement for the utilization of automated tools in content moderation. In a blog-post for the <i>KU Leuven’s Centre for IT and IP (CITIP) Blog</i>, Shweta Mohandas and Torsha Sarkar analyze the requirement in light of concerns of freedom of expression of Internet users. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/kfCCqzfLNuv79Hdeo_EA2wt5o0LRgortN3TKK_wup26r0wlpxdBW0C-m_IDPDssS9Ie8vuBmq3TrK6Bo0jfGRs1qD89TEU2wzVysBv9kAjUiosw2pXQiNir2ylQAnNBxnwyCe_qibQIf9UOGjlvP8d8iB1XZ1QPqQUl_yHKFDrPUme0OS2EUpis_rSoVy1ZOfH-GGHo7iNYRMcqqjbmCKtfZjmLvWY86v2Zk2EjLPXr8OA">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Our comments to the <strong>Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021</strong>, authored by Tanvi Apte, Anubha Sinha, and Torsha Sarkar, examine the <strong>constitutionality and legality of the Bill</strong> and whether the proposed amendments are compatible with established constitutional principles, precedents, previous policy positions and existing law. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/Ao1Sghs95JSFnpzMq8bTUYQ0z1F6uZOfg6M2Stt2ceVvCf4b0iB_3f-Yx7uywoASrATvOSS6uPYTVbP8x_JLqoD9QfvjD5soYvlNJBd87FuNyxqAb4wQ8cjOuN7B44pRo65xvX9K29eBGFp7fgv-AD_ok80j4SXnAZ6LrYClxPiHC48fiisVOW7McLfsFpLtUsns1u6MIG_7FMAKNY0GHFxa5xs3lM21mrhkEcC6I7sbimtF0jmOkid5nzYbcOrtQ5ZsvrdxSRllmmOy">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Tanvi Apte and Torsha Sarkar, in a submission to the <strong>Facebook Oversight Board</strong> in Case 2021-008-FB-FBR: Brazil, Health Misinformation and Lockdowns, answer questions set out by the Board which concerned a post made by a Brazilian sub-national health official, and raised questions on <strong>health misinformation and enforcement of Facebook's community standards</strong>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/h-QObkDu8td1bmkfzIEHJlAmS10MohQnXiyqHQKNEnQkEpvkdTxLkKV3yJO7CcTJGDcS0kRQVTDEE8KNbb-551uGYLiaV3wFoxJ9tGnvMBaqvtPgYgxZbnAMOowSxN7gQJTqSOZwzMVQtSbr449f6KC0Bb208ApIh2a8OX_HCRwn2BYpoTvqUfeyFZyp2qoyW5LbeAe9P-JTlFrDaB7oFBXvTHvlJfTRrT6ZeLlkQqA_RqMOga71-sxDIxBo0vvn-9r28DcTePg3p659lJ0CWQMCXiz4tY1p3cLrJgKl3K3fjignnvexZpNwk91paBQ_Bia2DDUxc1Vxmvci1p3AASg3FtYqL5l1">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">In an essay for the <i>Indian Journal of Law and Technology (IJLT)</i>, Torsha Sarkar analyzes issues rising out of the recent <strong>litigation between Trump and Twitter</strong>. Torsha examines intermediary liability issues under American law, and draws parallel for India, in light of the ongoing litigation around the suspension of advocate Sanjay Hegde’s Twitter account. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/JxA_S2DzStQUHeEVzf9_Df15_QnK0WHgMEjaaCqNjLmfXPAS4teU_fvrDtG9R4OwwOzWYiAXWPE3QFaxOZvJ5VCHuwincnLyGpYpWME0K5x8CJwyW0vUhC-stExhsSV_5pLmEtfaVyzcGRaXsJ4jGnLWnrADSdYzpPjUTPAb6hKDDL5BBjLjzvRt14_y3_9RNos99UKlpOCv9UFR6gC6cmOQmqte1UICPRw54oI7TUMC8TfPow-JZGmeA8lmMtODPi5dPN91euSX0g">link</a>]</li>
</ol>
<h3>Copyright & Access to Knowledge</h3>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Indian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce’s report weighs on several aspects of the <strong>Indian IPR system and issues of protection and enforcement</strong>. In a blog post, Anubha Sinha summarily notes the observations and recommendations of the Committee on the Copyright Act, 1957 which stand to impact <strong>access to knowledge</strong>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/20Alo2_Tse_JJBXG7sp9tp3Jf_qIUy2ksAvhoVH4heonMxDYRQK4nweCNF8LP29mpKvznQC8vljEX7TCv-Wb6SQREV5ph4uYOVIgz4wf36MaGTw8T5dkCxjqttA5V1tzNxdpfKi1WqQJKSFJ3o9Eog0uVFhHd3wXaYwiukkD3WHoDeYkOSZR_DYTGlm6nebmtCjaRRhTqwGMPYkZsKxM2td9xO2GBfP-J5R8llhxsrl1MvaUyiRBLIASh1l_KNpvCtlix-3Hot2VozymMTWyPG15W6s">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The 41st edition of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was held from 28 June to 1 July. Anubha Sinha participated in the event as a speaker and delivered statements on the <strong>Protection of Broadcasting Organisations</strong> [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/VysBbmMrMfJH2U5C8TeeVWtBq8wqBadivgBYyh26sNYegYdfaR4Tg_G6v1FqMgyVD6KAm3Z1tKWm256qR0VlPwGircBtmecePp2_-24cYoFWCoDH5v_5MuytzvKUIHkSlZ4cXN9CtUZ9t-92oeqAe5qm_CDhT0Xu7G5OZKn1_9s56JlL7E9FiWa0U5l2PYeonXi9H026DNWNaOPHQ8nvvYlmvIcTkwvKWQ">link</a>], and on <strong>Limitations and Exceptions</strong> [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/TBrEeBXDldm7nDPpsENoKMft-G03I54LhjmedXzSkg1RPImWfwqhCZ7bwXpwsXbIuVvOLd7G0RtA7PgCDKqHKcYjWzHr1K8Dd8oSUYIasd8N_tlEiMedkl8eTmoz5Cm_cLV8NlYLzIbsrHCxZhhPUApqXJprQ39qHf89pyRS2Zcw1HUYW8d-rVWobmlbW4MVr0EvBz0gbWpz3NLbh9W71pVK1VN9j-ge--ine3yx-uSoyel8qUGs0mPqw0NXp0nEUnIP32r3qHvdjzEbz4Ynagm2ww">link</a>]. Readers can access the notes from Day 1 [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/W_H8QjZ4FUv92dhzAdWKRTS508l6DEy7YOb8mnsf-ZzcQeMZe8TCW3XG5Fs7j1BO678zXMJn5jZiXL2eI4ZVNjrE6Sz8XcQs5fJ4z1EZSQTr-vMsaJsroyckdwmtQnOepz5KMLPZl4OnPm6ERcnJGBCVp6v7PZgpxVBGp5PR9Fo4e_TncX2qm_q_aB_e9s3I2vp8PReJJVYoEl53xIqWKkBqXlWk2RbqOQ">link</a>], Day 2 [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/DRaLcVvuB-VfY7fjrVtjA5hPHTFt2KwIt2hsH4mjuuYlzJLCv5r9O3R5-4Rg72Bhvw3kMYaowZuZorJN8DXJjhf5NABvf519ig4SyCsIUri4mXWjDA1lmCHY_Oe1WfTq_VLVxwOb4XYp8VVnKIIcgAg1kseXVSENaugyRZI3otS_IUn_zNwEkw2PdFEojqryYcf5kiEADKQ5sRuVH8WB9pncRKgCvpOfFA">link</a>], and Days 3 & 4 [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/dTkOebRyoXNDfdFetpwM6-mmRSpH7gwM1RL-SJmGMrbF25H9Y4-lo-nQ8HINcrM1eUmX9nqvpmoL26wsIsbAhOJ3MQygMDJpTQc-RNGk07WOUyH4GFUuejBJzsRBkQn44CEDxkcSQBzyLQHGjKakTPDRFszrjnLqD3e9jXfs77ie7wKRazrFjyssNPscxSg8xmrcfv89klVCo-Ts6ApD6nuRi3t0nndX2DAQ_hw_WlYLCgfmyw">link</a>].</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The CIS Access to Knowledge team published a comparative analysis of two prominent Wikimedia initiatives, <strong>Wikipedia Asian Month</strong> and <strong>Project Tiger</strong>, to understand prevailing challenges and opportunities, and strategies to address the same. Nitesh Gill in a two-part report outlines the research questions and methods of this study [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/HZI5YNgRhNViR9DS-ewrTbGX-5PkynXGEMDr5kfCauCk2OYuygd2I3Da7Tp1kyhG1Oboc0MxIelbvOqpVQHHq0JVRgbyEVMPZiTWPhQENwnv_pfOR8KYHZzzLKv7Tc-iFk6qBgCCDSbnwjmA7sfiC3FDHFvqzbEGlMMUIg1XvcRNu6fFBWe2S1W5lsdZD00dY0r-w8o3IkzCSbKwHqJMld7CQvl48lpzGHtKFreKT_MiB33iis0Fehz-nrz7DlT-k2GLTpwScqX4DcHrLjWb7A">link</a>], and then presents some of the observations and learnings [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/bdLNf3_CCDaXpSzzhYF_2ThcU-LuTFb6k6HDcZ_4myjIWm-GlwXcDVQweGpaYjKKt4NmMol-HxoPucMx6w3-HC4QUmPULVJ882x8AMHaRehpgFh9t8cYPB6VPyjXNgcbzjSfOQXE6GpUDhrGYYg6KTmuH6t7F1qlOcoc_qlglL4vz5yCBL8Ri03yfZZVcfheY5Ly5lUb3WSZMpsO1u6n6KaRC_YFemwGu0sWsWgjW-XPRSNAyxHKeGLlUS7eN7wNvx-iLCLb2-VhEtN64QZHaxUd724J8Fg5">link</a>].</li>
</ol>
<h3>Labour and Social Justice</h3>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">In a flagship report on <strong>domestic and care workers on digital platforms</strong>, Aayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon argue that digital platforms are complicit in discriminating against workers on the basis of their identities, and that domestic workers continue to remain in precarious positions without any legal recognition or support. This work was jointly authored between the Centre for Internet and Society and the Domestic Workers’ Rights Union. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/sm3NIXtD7ClOE3mjbw6fg2ZvZB0TI3dh6rnb4vb6Hv0Ev_VwikRY-XOESwuw3-Gfglvi7OHT5l-PthXPf2rn3UDbiRRE3jaRzidnzl5uPs6ZqdtktRRVINgR3CCtZ-grN_QKqZN9KefjfMYgB7klWARTLAkZbSsKmoyrLiIZ0XMVXkYWu_F1do2eH73g_cTDDyKJiQiq9wWsbLzwjsEWoZ1uR0H2wqUp1ZOfkEyfkTbU0YojEnLVenrB-X7HDp812pjRMqHbw1qAskYpol6w_Tca">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The ongoing pandemic has raised very valid questions of <strong>access and infrastructure in India</strong>, especially during a time when the Internet and digital technologies are essential, and in many ways the ‘new normal’. P.P. Sneha and Anasuya Sengupta write in <i>Seminar Magazine</i>, outlining some key <strong>challenges in digitalisation and representation of non-dominant/marginalised languages</strong> on the Internet, through reflections on two recent projects related to languages and the Internet. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/iWhSEkwBqINHVVX-zy-cEtFRkWyCSoGeumeW2KNYU8gylOUgjNWiIceMev9vAcoTdrNvCoBtuZKcHSmrG3oEZ5Wypr7VRmrecPMNbuxUDoIF4FJGIlzAPeQ8dpdyeeHeQqANiU3oUN2xKTpRQ5Tin8PUoWRfMm5YXh_iougUbkun-Tq6NSjRkmvbiWXeZyphO9R44QWTrxDm2wWOdlCh2reGxocxbpNMzDPlGmxnA18sMsFi73SksnR9lQh76ylSM2iIYr3ptZk61DznsmUdfr0BK-GQL7HcD4M">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">With the onset of the national lockdown on 24th March 2020 in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the fate of millions of migrant workers was left uncertain. In addition, lack of enumeration and registration of migrant workers became a major obstacle for all state governments and the Central Government to channelize relief and welfare measures. Ankan Barman compiled a report to <strong>qualitatively assess health conditions of migrant workers and access to welfare</strong> during the first COVID-19 lockdown, in three host-states, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Haryana. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/hU5-1FD3nbo69KurjQmXES36QSFtRZSHr4FuCzsscEMQOUOZD523Cc-iKliMQQWvm7AFZQ2JJtrcPhNeqoAS7ASS2X0_c9D3D_yvS9IuqLpt_xHpSUdVxnh85ZSVlSr07zj4mucQogJy6c2ZHw6zgQAmLQGkcl4xr__txUaycSpVKrqmHcBb3RBw2YkBTvxRfFnll2FcPmmfFYhGf1_SGM1baLyoZscYZ96h-AB1tHzg4Lao2KfFIhJ-RxHtC67r1nytTWNCRy8pY4QWmx2g-kBw0EAD4vl94LmPX10tdqmvBreDz3xxfN4o9h0OHfEzZARXb2dQFnHltqvRjPq5msyzW69oXuZZsDs0pcS6yYA">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Between July to November 2019, Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) conducted 2,128 surveys across six major cities: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Lucknow, to determine the occupational health and safety of app-based transport workers. Findings from the survey have been compiled as a report which <strong>reveals the complete absence of social security and protection of workers in a digital platform economy.</strong> [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/J4FjrBD647MV8lneM-mPFxr7IWwYeETEgk17OI3lDkqNVRmfoRqhmAs1CqZXDQx-MyEntGeO7vOMUu6lslvGQbMg4Pp6Gvpz7GaUrXiOXti7YGBNPHMzLCP3BsDeYstDOYNs6Rry3eMUvPI-mV1kh6aNGWf_WlBXjwoevFZdwmt660vTJbRaUGuI1Cc45TFmp3ur5qDJNg3vaTXElkuEvo7Dz9rPcEHOTDNy-k2LW3cX9mOB_QNC5yt4sy0CCWvf-2yHAYa_2j6pVmVx2PwbbSrfMfSdK0-WL1PSZpcAHlqcRVU05C5Js__byzmLjmWUKO-kMbw">link</a>]</li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/june-july-2021-newsletter'>http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/june-july-2021-newsletter</a>
</p>
No publisherpranavInternet GovernanceResearchers at WorkCopyrightAccess to Knowledge2021-08-10T15:57:16ZPageMarch - May Newsletter
http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/march-may-2021-newsletter
<b></b>
<h3>Cybersecurity, and Emerging Technology</h3>
<ol>
<li><strong>Doctrinal clarity</strong> and <strong>institutional coherence</strong> are essential for a robust cybersecurity posture. Arindrajit Basu and Pranesh Prakash analyze this in an opinion piece in <em>The Hindu</em>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/mkAIQo7C4IZmt9JYL5DoADKYnQqxm9fka-gdBSvoA81rsg6GEgy07tjzn0qNQvz4PxT4dYB5ZeNQ1Bbi1ubYUR0z6z8dy3e5FK9grxNzzgZSO0IUwVPm8behwp6dBjhS3_xc9_d4Bz234TH-U0qMpqF9sJzKUGtQ7MZi0hnzsUaVhsA2VGsqoSC3xrrr1cD9ZX8AlcPmIR3uj5moIhV9EfHcU2EHOQqhu6OCGcfuUBS-tgGe1iBvbOikAjEWMJin4Q61Rd8p31vaLtqTwVe2uw">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">U.S. and Indian decisions about <strong>Huawei</strong> have implications not just for their separate relations with China, but the <strong>U.S.-India bilateral</strong> as well. Arindrajit Basu and Justin Sherman co-authored an article in <em>The Diplomat</em> examining Huawei’s role in India [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/M0GGHsg5EtZWdtPNqwbeCiMiN7elnvi6aLYTpAVn0gw7se-z20XDgj6jfb79INZxyFmGtDXDcD0pf_RfRo3K_RyXEav9HKy_gV1G8nDVPhoN8Kp2G9-NLUeUCXxW6WYbiyyWDZdKwxzd4PsyoxybVKoJ9XH7JhsVFDPhN0ySqc8Mi6MD0zq8q_CRT9dDkdCC2queRjZdcOr4eoC8YPjU-LVpaxJGge0rOaPrYmM3oe__OoIjvA">link</a>]</li>
<li>In an article for <em>The Wire</em>, Aman Nair points out that India might miss out on <strong>NFT (non-fungible tokens)</strong> which is set to become a mainstay in the modern digital zeitgeist. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/wKv_Gt32QSHdLE3-ykqX_8DMhA2QohVdjXJn-C65rBN_0nsI9LCIhp3WrANkb-8cDzw1rSkKGrJ0gyPwV_p9aqBIOu3ioMRLjQmVdwMwcVH6nVHELvDJiebOfI5HgW0DS2jvjYUGiFNuBE4y5k7D6hcdEnmRXZ0cGaM-VT0qPJcw28gDhe7eJcg_rmvGhHbJBm_h0VnZfNJyjqZ8CFoiIU0z3QaGDqk16_gOlCYYR98VTEehLBYUs8ymz6Fggw">link</a>]</li>
<li>Arindrajit Basu and Andre Barrinha co-wrote for the <em>EU Cyber Direct</em>, <strong>on outer space diplomacy in the 1960s</strong> and why cyber (security) diplomacy isn’t quite progressing as well or as fast. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/Ud7YZJn5YKOmIROHOUMyLVB-69aNwlb-FParRXYStS_vdQ3SDwErMwxNQlu8iFNnUlSI5lejtsIHgERXyVY3xzTjRGyNP9_sR-uAyfxusTZlSMU3qNs5OPlSJfRErWBEkj_TiT2y1QQwZH8brbn6P8H4S1rDBX1QFICDOe5HjYF2GOdrgzwA1vaeJB6YrFcn2BUNmpsDD4f0mKwcYkCVVFCYgOtbj1-59CoswRfSqgA">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Arindrajit Basu, Irene Poetranto and Justin Lau co-wrote an article for <em>Carnegie Endowment for International Peace</em> which captures some <strong>concerns with the United Nations OEWG process</strong> dealing with cyber norms and the absence of discussion at the forum on key issues. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/G-0Ok05_UomEqWTkmsuUXGq9V-i2zMa0ul5zzkfLKC8Rj5rCGsl12lrJl7tfGzORBxTOYoVPoLUlHF_KaD2z05TyeW3cQDqaxvlhUDxfr2Z9n64Lbe1_p8FYKFvLXrsNVAoEbxsCbOncqzkKgVebcxHe_HF5Murx9aVk6Ps9ik34I4Sj3y26-_Nj98iLwMPZO0rs8hYNZbvsjcUbyGxm6G5xlfjakhy-UsjioXEGdz7zQdV6O_FCG1BoP1Rvm8fPxvdK1JEbGkedHgwk9ENn9na2J6I">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">In an article for the <em>Observer Research Foundation</em>, Arindrajit Basu writes about how India must avoid getting its <strong>data policy</strong> caught up in tired existing machinations and instead forge <strong>a new path that prioritizes Indian strategic interests</strong>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/eZHdtXVJIePupyeXaX8RUlkusvtOgHe4VHCDeiVpkTS0P4ji1lGib5cqvQX0nGf5iIx6vb52mwWtd9Z5G5z71_dGvd89c5xn2JyZ-f9cdOWTAsHKRwxo_Tk2Kp7Dfb4JEi4r2Sd5r3dHPc3YmRMYLseDLnESCpmxnPkbX5y1sMitN5OUu4x1ydiYZxfB3FKVZjnnXSCAmB2yPWS7pL4cGcVWpJ1PqBoqPAvvs_Ofqyg58K7inxfax-5tIPk5wyLsEARP92qYgPo">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Aman Nair, Arinjay Vyas, Pallavi Bedi, and Garima Saxena authored a <strong>response to the Supreme Court E-committee’s draft vision document of phase III of the E-courts project</strong>. This response recommends consideration be given to the digital and gender divide, and lack of clarity in the document on several data-related aspects. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/eLr3hXFonL5hfAUH5ux5zoQcTrY2PxRDO9kflkNqtcUObBbYWm-vqp7v4Ex0g_o7YtCokB315adj-1k_QwDebJ1k9G626m1MGuTYmlfKdwSVl7mYsfna4Dy96z8Eb7iJ7gtcZZF8s5JQCGN1ux3PiYvgDrxbs3MeXeZizpIZsm9OsPvCGzvC5HbxkhfdFG2B6853ajax3xofJRcucZ2Jc1AFEg5iAVrwiopY0SFIb99XHRESaUFEP9KYNs2bC1nAXaAW4AU7OPG_">link</a>]</li>
</ol>
<h3>Privacy</h3>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The proposed <i>Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019</i> is being deliberated by the Joint Parliamentary Committee and is expected to be tabled in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Pallavi Bedi and Amber Sinha co-authored a white paper to examine the <strong>personal data implications on welfare delivery models in India</strong> and to suggest ways to operationalise key provisions. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/_Gjo4q_RVbTa0sA8X1FOhYiB4McMtr_8JgcG33Uf9nXIX9VsXvDxzVvYABfOz-DyVN14iCoyotGqfkjezyNjJFt4RsiYkw6m0UFNhGd9NYLj3fkrn8IfKwI3YJtO9-FrkgMxcCOTc1PdedlPXPGO2cafHCYUaLhHNMXIepnX2L2KC-mG_-l0Fjx5m-GvmP6GcXg1eyOyNZjrCL8eFWzyCT9XVDv8afLm2D3F0l-28tz-MwSJRRqc4vIjV0PCykM6NXQ">link</a>]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Shweta Mohandas authored an article for <i>Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law Student Research Review (RSRR)</i><span>. In this article, which forms a part of RSRR’s ‘</span><i>Excerpts from Experts Blog Series</i><span>,’ Shweta examines whether </span><strong>Indian data protection legislation can act as a check on growing workplace surveillance</strong><span>. [</span><a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/5X-z4Ay91QvhUYmdHomWwzdgLp7eCubPpwLyaH1H0MWiyiQfU9PIIQSg2Nshk2mfLJYrb65hiGIj3xyuffXiDnOu9lbwfFsrQCL6D5DnQ9HkvOoZHcq3_Kgf9NVKSAX7tv-aqy00L3jjJtbWbvfaqwnagmdUVSLEP9E7S6s-UTBvO-KCO82DhWELF0Od6dhVrbr0WvVi980IX67IkCiSNaKwpuNwSXuYS9bgD0s">link</a><span>]</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Aman Nair and Arindrajit Basu examine the changes in the context of <strong>data sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook as being an anticompetitive action in violation of the Indian Competition Act, 2002</strong><span>. Having previously </span><a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/u35U0gu1I7Y81i6OYu20wN7zgiA4FxKWowVPgk7Gmafn69IJLoZapqrfCSWui33Sh0ntbkPajjtW_p35C3qMoCP5xcrC2dHSO3DX9MZ7uFNbJZ-p_NRBv5bOZ_1jKeH2KYBYohqWlZ83VVG3CDvNl1AK_4xmNrr9L578OragYyJQo2U93bxHbLw1fnLc1CPWqkfZvcmydFo1HGyNBeFpRqiTVn6ytQjyAiUw2Gisx7itlxVHmb_QCuSd0T8nD47U4UBH_i_dg6PN5R4PcjU">examined</a><span> the implications of WhatsApp’s changes to its privacy policy in 2021, this issue brief is the second output of the series examining the effects of the changes. [</span><a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/jOUH-SfgRCjdp9DORlyEL16nnyJ_ogGha0d2DdYJGcRnBOiZt6F3SuhZzZYX8t1umpAtId1_80WNiW3Y6CgGDA-TYQ2hORCBWeOvvoPphGzr0DfCy_6tD8QQMzgb3mCm1GXECkmJM_kTL9kfRrj8GVpe3DHJ7_jX3pKBQx9HHWKqkgftY_8wTG6zCG4J8HZC-1Hv66BsR1didil6DVh-HtetydLcMzlikdBj4bvxTjzFRAoLvsyeBH9PaoDRJuUXTYR5-8BcE8ITu2TyiOyc_ME2kuDJ3DJiE4PDeNHutpTJyuc7lqwp-g">link</a><span>]</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">In a blog-post, Pallavi Bedi provides recommendations for the <strong>Covid vaccine intelligence network (Co-Win) platform</strong><span>. She says that as a first step it is essential that Co-Win has a separate dedicated privacy policy which conforms to the internationally accepted privacy principles and enumerated in the Personal Data Protection Bill. [</span><a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/o19mW5Vyy3giilmnC_ef5khZu85qA-A3uDr687psJN0UhAkPY43mYt7Jaw7cXwy0NJK7ky9IvnklXsGPIME4bYH2cCVK_NeXEhZK-N6RRRSSDFUG33BpdaFtUD3cqIxrsEV_-ILCXF4SDN3IBmJFKeJDBFZA4bLuUWEzsAhBQbnFcbGuITTNq74cViuBSO-p09OT9-AtzOUgce0Brhta6YmU5iSmpMGW2XWhWTw3ueesRR_8fjDkF7XoLDGCMmkdjvAeyfbCIee0z-30EbUN5sbLzCCHVUHmuYVPzqtLeV8">link</a><span>]</span></li>
</ol>
<h3>Freedom of Expression, and Intermediary Liability</h3>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">In February, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) had issued draft rules for <strong>regulation of digital influencers</strong>, with an aim to <em>“understand the peculiarities of [online] advertisements and the way consumers view them,”</em> as well as to ensure that: <em>“consumers must be able to distinguish when something is being promoted with an intention to influence their opinion or behaviour for an immediate or eventual commercial gain.”</em> Torsha Sarkar and Shweta Mohandas respond with comments and recommendations to the rules. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/nP6_NZer0OIQv_bMG6p9Vzx-uTdYi17sYHl0xdFjMYzEzv9xmTvSG73K8_7sq4J6NPdQ5sNA5eaQvAwMHBrYkAt2mGFF9SLlrCSfNZ3K6rpRyst36jbtHpdD3_Pc9ukKdBW3_lhiGpISLi7H2TBa0BumRk2JV3PFdUBH6R3kk0ywJuvcHeJJWxAsnyydYY2s2_iRpo5Sc0MvHbC8vlDCoI6mtuL0_PC6B2eL0G8wZqbtwYYM2hNO-DfobKXJV16nfGC8GxASmN2FmH07pif0Cn5xSXoeadfmwb-Fox-B03UAn-0THELMM1beVubJWnOAOrPXoA5JIZ7CQe5x3g">link</a>]</li>
</ol>
<h3>Copyright, and Access to Knowledge</h3>
<ol>
<li> Anubha Sinha explains what the draft national science, technology and innovation policy means for <strong>open access to scientific literature</strong> for Indians. This article was published in <em>The Wire Science</em>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/CJjg4ihUvxLz1chJKcO03n5_Ydr9rvEDH_kFGYPs7_aijAvgsioqcqvZU0n41Ly6CNagHY1Upc0-3eCPsdo3GxXWC6baFyPSXImgs7tRy-Tio7TdRDS1qHU9i5YghNVjsoIunFozlrsutZGnXjXNF6Ce04lDrZ0g0dOdBIDt-InCeubeq35RnbIj3Qb2jdf2vwlkcAeyC925K6WeyzPM7sGUAVmMH1wKu9pmN-bgHJfNRodxOWODiF_o5vmu6g25UP6IdunHwUKorudI_0RopdHXBA">link</a>] </li>
<li> In an article published in <em>Info Justice</em>, Anubha Sinha provides a summary of the progress of the <strong>copyright infringement suit against Sci-Hub and LibGen</strong> in India. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/Jg1NJZxuFnR-Srq0Tz1RS3XZZ17cL4JxJFlOY2g12wpoHPIxsc-lW18hjUe7sg309BNiO1i0V_yLGaQsQiAzILlWe2zd3ctx4dTTFvyFbs_Ds1w3W91GNEdoWszaryWzeKs-ZSDZYR1IPZa4ZGXpOrd21RiKK6InuJVXGZRN6WJzmgdBr4ZWre9-NP3AxduZDFnzXrjfCho6iDPhS7CuR8ZW4bFCwkmvCr70-yTDLLkT2DUmkB-caRfvMxukUyr1fjilhp-3vJwEt1gHi0HP-kpyx3wac8mjFxSCbsVg-5AiRMti">link</a>] </li>
</ol>
<h3>Digital Cultures, and Social Justice</h3>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">In a research paper, Noopur Raval offers critical historical insights from the fields of international development, anthropology, and postcolonial history to caution against both the possible harms of <strong>gender disaggregated datafication</strong>, as well as the consequences of <strong>non-participatory datafication of women</strong>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/WmB3X2tO_c8hEDCY-QCDD1tTPBIEB7Gt4bFRLY7mNCB3X5sRuV6npbW4eIX8ta-lGod2fia1v8ZTxZurtXczkJQbBg5ckgKRSG3eYKfG9ntQ5qRKVkq12g9YEmZ1eP1raJjh5p5aHQ-0MhUsQafyvBQpzVEdDK9ZJecvYAq3GyD42aSWkS0iQ17sS9WCDchDhFQn20CS7MAEmZm6rM0yymmNBqTHRR7GuKxP3edQqiMTblOufA4mhx62YuIgqn_mRv5uOPqxevVBmTtlTTyMmZihFccK">link</a>]</li>
<li>Kaarika Das, a research scholar at NIEPA and Sravya C, a researcher in the Humanizing Automation project at IIIT Bangalore published <strong>a study on migrants in India's Gig Economy</strong>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/H6Jr3Xykf4-nxghqRxErQtEVs4TH-l3S2LVhiXIisAPDyUCm6fiWyLGCI_V9jrofmSaX7B1sFEjjVvhsqbNcHpKz6_ztX9o6ZMp-BRrke6HgLScE3FYxJKKFhtGyp_w_xUwJu1jybdsltHMKm1oNjRgYm4Z_hbpUTmJlK72raCD6jC7VjvTmuJmIGZLFa1J18o0IoImVO8VLqbV_lUigTVBNQWqZsgl_TyjYf3a6H8oLBlG4fo3jIXAsU5S2aySLzNO9u46C1Zv5g-D3wc6jChAhrMcOtcp2NNeEOJRw_n-nzYNrfVNwwLKdIOY">link</a>]</li>
<li>Sameet Panda and Vipul Kumar wrote a blog for <em>Privacy International</em> pointing the <strong>failures in the digitisation of India’s food security programme</strong> in light of the <strong>exclusion of married women of Odisha</strong>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/czsORnDtqHr4eMfKxD9huAqfK9BfJ_oZWslVsCoG63dJQwSqFhMbQzBgtolMXmsnvl3TuEaSJXOIWWc6z-EcMaMSfZwAZR6Tixu7KVE3u343x0qCePCh6k_Mbyo1ckxpCdq6R4M2f8b-8PdxHsW1OzgIALcgF63n63DmmmP3krIGfTsWj-kO03xSa6lho6qrFDnEQeDW6zuMc8mHf-o34ogIveNxvYoa_gtPEag390DefdFa5not77SmRSLeLd-oAFxkcQ_jrSEiEnyjD9UNdb0COOFbk8KlrD2y7SBM27_5U_oRY1tHFTDIpBT3z4k">link</a>]</li>
<li>Shreya Ghosh, a research scholar at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi authored an article in <em>EPW</em> on <strong>access to welfare and health for women during the initial phase of the pandemic</strong>. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/WrUVPoWi-5LlI7z8_qy9HVtjyDoIgjSdclz7-wdA1OV2tG7GWSuUQ-F31hf1TpaGumhcxYeQJE9vqj1LRYpoKJfaHyCQHx_Dnt8PcNB2eEvQAbtHEdjAZLIu6Pno55XvtCJ33EBRdNRU-tu0Tt8j_lXT_nSChepY18OpIu69PUGNBI7Lsp6pkOo4LXhtUKdImoitU_-lBg1-paVePznLYRWL7bhk5rm_OrIsJPZuKbEnew8kXTwbDvjUgZbD">link</a>]</li>
<li>Ambika Tandon and Aayush Rathi in a research paper, <strong>“Fault lines at the Front lines”</strong> analyze the <strong>changing employment conditions for domestic workers</strong> in the growing platform economies of South and Southeast Asia. By analyzing different platform designs and comparing regulations in <strong>India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam</strong>, the authors present a thorough picture of the situation for domestic workers in the new economy. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/kPMoaM42DpjpGxHbzGnAXycfRBu9fPzVJ6jQoyePUjDKKV9KMz8HDo8M3h5fDoOFAynoCq8ARyzHdBIkACBBy8eWHRWjcbXslejcnZZIn2LP-BsWh_Sr4FMl2AWDTQktt8tlZAZ2PcTfL_KE1sYJD1d4522v3eLvu_QUX8LCXvuznSIusIe7e_vFu3MNdylOuSIK_-L61Uin8gAEZ-eO4DDwYaE42Uc0">link</a>]</li>
<li>In a blog post published by <em>Ethical Source</em>, Ambika Tandon throws light on <strong>artificial intelligence and allied technologies</strong> that form part of <strong>Industry 4.0</strong> in the future of work. [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/Hrd-w4fWPa8ThFlmr-Zw_-LR96KsoFTBchzDQ8QwDJALcjcwz1fCn49RAws3-xmNATUZIYUaSQT4nJxodQvSgrzlzKXEOdj64Sx8aRvtkyPaolpAml7hSDcczWdPJPaZISxUxCl9S1DHnfujOulrLkdqgEf1xPsWSQk_TQZJU4dOE7Vnqm_pmCnFVs_WLo4yQ2P00Td3VYd78HikHsyLC3yqju4">link</a>]</li>
<li>Ambika Tandon and Aayush Rathi authored a chapter titled <strong>“Care in the Platform Economy: Interrogating the Digital Organisation of Domestic Work in India”</strong> in a book titled <em>“The Gig Economy: Workers and Media in the Age of Convergence.”</em> [<a href="https://4jok2.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/-vxAl0-OSphrFabwlh8Ir2yhdE_cYeWryiSavWFOByLbxWzlndVfgl1K0awHZjD1J6LmUbu2OaoCgNKL3Dcozv_hQ9WEi1MeQdSRmT1kKProU_9fJexLKPbw80T69AfzXMtjpfX_6zYPpWohxsh1xxOwK86Vs5S_x73hOG7hhuQxFfy4VF4co0Ls2jX-Wi7-L4pf-SBVBekVFuObAI6dOsUwWyywiSYldGbFbxxPfyVegmZuKMtD4bBycNBw_B__X1IogiPK5fj0851hxFM4eo5Wl2s0dZY37-UhpKL4xS0gLZI9UozMux7JbmzM4jpZT1AAGGCNlYb4DM3_Alf0YHI1KQ">link</a>]</li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/march-may-2021-newsletter'>http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/march-may-2021-newsletter</a>
</p>
No publisherpranavInternet GovernanceCopyrightAccess to Knowledge2021-08-08T15:45:45ZPageComments on the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021
http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-cinematograph-amendment-bill-2021
<b>In this submission, we examine the constitutionality and legality of the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was released by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. </b>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">This submission presents comments by CIS on the Cinematograph (Amendement) Bill, 2021 (“the Bill”) which were released on 18 June 2021 for public comments. These comments examine whether the proposed amendments are compatible with established constitutional principles, precedents, previous policy positions and existing law. While we appreciate the opportunity to submit comments, we note that the time allotted for doing so was less than a month (the deadline for submission was 2 July 2021). Given the immense public import in the proposed changes, and the number of stakeholders involved, we highlight that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) should have provided more time in the final submission of comments. </p>
<p> </p>
<p dir="ltr">Read our full submission <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/cinematograph-act-amendments-bill">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-cinematograph-amendment-bill-2021'>http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-on-the-cinematograph-amendment-bill-2021</a>
</p>
No publisherTanvi Apte, Anubha Sinha and Torsha SarkarBroadcastingConstitutional LawCopyrightCensorship2021-07-05T05:59:52ZBlog EntryUpdate on Publisher’s Copyright Infringement Suit Against Sci-Hub and LibGen in India
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/update-on-publisher2019s-copyright-infringement-suit-against-sci-hub-and-libgen-in-india
<b>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. </b>
<p>This blog post is an update on the copyright infringement suit filed
against Sci-Hub and LibGen in the Delhi High Court by Elsevier Ltd,
Wiley India, and American Chemical Society.</p>
<p>In the first hearing in December, while the court ordered Sci-Hub to
stop making new unauthorised uploads of the publishers’ content, it
allowed the existing links to stay on, noting it was not urgent to
remove content relating to decade-long infringing activity. LibGen did
not appear before the court.</p>
<p>Indian science and academia realise that their right to research is
at stake. In January, several Indian scientists and advocacy
organisations applied to intervene in the case, to persuade the court to
not issue an interim or permanent injunction for dynamic blocking of
the websites.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/rsidd120/status/1347227162395303939">One</a>
of the written submissions (filed by twenty scientists and a public
health advocacy organisation) states that the two websites are the <em>only</em>
access to educational and research materials for a big community of
Indian researchers, scientists, teachers and students. And these have
become indispensable during the pandemic.</p>
<p>This submission also highlights the position of leading science academies in the country – who in 2019 had <a href="http://www.insaindia.res.in/pdf/Publication_of_Literature.pdf">advocated</a>
for making public-funded research openly accessible, as well as
recognition of the affordability and availability problem in India’s <a href="https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/the-sti-policy-proposes-a-transformative-open-access-approach-for-india/">current draft</a>
science, innovation, and technology policy. It shares analyses of the
monopolistic barriers in academic publishing and extractive pricing, and
their crippling impact in the Indian context.</p>
<p>They further argue that since the use of the websites is for
research, which expressly falls within the ambit of statutory fair
dealing, the charge of copyright infringement is not sustained. Nor have
the publishers shown that Sci-Hub or LibGen users exploit the material
for commercial gains. Additional legal support has been drawn from the
DU photocopying judgment, Article 8(1) of the TRIPS Agreement, and
jurisprudence around website-blocking in India.</p>
<p>In the hearing that followed, the judge noted that the issues in the
case were ‘a matter of public importance’; hence, the court would hear
all interested parties before issuing any new orders. LibGen still
remained unrepresented, with the court noting that it had not been
served properly yet.</p>
<p>At the time of writing this, Sci-Hub had filed its written statement
(not publicly accessible yet). Alexandra Elbakyan has separately shared
some thoughts on the case in an interview <a href="https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/interview-alexandra-elbakyan-sci-hub-elsevier-academic-publishing-open-access/">here</a>.</p>
<p>Given the gamut of contentions, the case judgment will have
implications for Indian copyright aspects such as: meaning of the
statutory exemption for research and scope of fair dealing, and bar on
circumventing technological protection measures – all while having to
toe the WIPO Internet treaties, Berne Convention, and the TRIPS
Agreement. Hopefully, these will be grounded in reflections on
exploitative state of academic publishing system, duties of academic
publishers, and distinction between piracy and sharing online.</p>
<p>The judgment will add to the state of our learning and research
needs, and how copyright policy can support that, as this is the first
time Sci-Hub and LibGen have been taken to court in a developing
country.</p>
<p><em>Note:</em> For an in-depth analysis of the social dimensions of the matter, please read this <a href="https://osf.io/6yph7/">document</a> prepared by Like-Minded IP Teachers’ Working Group on Intellectual Property and Public Interest.</p>
<p>Access the article on InfoJustice <a class="external-link" href="http://infojustice.org/archives/42977">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/update-on-publisher2019s-copyright-infringement-suit-against-sci-hub-and-libgen-in-india'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/update-on-publisher2019s-copyright-infringement-suit-against-sci-hub-and-libgen-in-india</a>
</p>
No publishersinhaLimitations & ExceptionsCopyrightAccess to KnowledgeCourt Case2021-04-28T17:28:47ZBlog EntryComments on the Draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019 concerning Statutory Licensing
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/comments-on-the-draft-copyright-amendment-rules-2019-concerning-statutory-licensing
<b>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. </b>
<p></p>
<h2><strong>Preliminary</strong></h2>
<p>1. This
submission presents comments to the Department for Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade (“<strong>DPIIT</strong>”), Ministry
of Commerce and Industry pertaining to the notification G.S.R 393(E) containing
the <a class="external-link" href="http://copyright.gov.in/Documents/pdfgazette.pdf">draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019</a> issued on 30<sup>th</sup> May 2019.</p>
<p>2. We
commend DPIIT on the release of the draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (“<strong>Draft Rules</strong>”) and are thankful for the
opportunity to put forth its views via this public consultation.</p>
<p>3.
This
submission is divided into three main parts. This part, ‘Preliminary’,
introduces the document; the second part provides an overview of the
organization and its research in the field of intellectual property rights; and
the third part contains CIS’ comments on the Draft Rules 29, 30, 31.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">4.<strong> </strong>The
third part contains two sections. In the first section, we discuss the legal
validity of the Draft Rules 29,30,31. In the second part we discuss the general
implications of extending the legal regime of broadcasting rights under the
Indian Copyright Act, 1957 (“<strong>Act</strong>”)
to works on the Internet.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"> </p>
<h2><strong>About The Centre for
Internet and Society</strong></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">5. The
Centre for Internet and Society (“<strong>CIS</strong>”)
is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on
internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The
areas of focus in respect of intellectual property rights include research on domestic
copyright and patent laws, international trade agreements and treaties
pertaining to these subjects, promotion of creators’ and users’ rights with a
view to furthering access to knowledge and openness in the public interest. CIS
has also been participating at WIPO-SCCR negotiations in the capacity of an
Observer since 2009.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">6. CIS
values the fundamental principles of justice, equality, freedom and economic
development. This submission is consistent with CIS' commitment to these values
including the safeguarding of general public interest. Accordingly, the
comments in this submission aim to further these principles.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"> </p>
<h2><strong>Comments</strong></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">7. Draft
Rules 29, 30 and 31 pertain to section 31D of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957.
The proposed change in Rule 29 seeks to expand the modes of broadcast for which
notice for invoking statutory license under section 31D may be issued - which
previously was restricted to only radio and TV modes of broadcasting; and the
change in Rule 31 will permit the Appellate Board to determine royalties for <em>all</em> modes of broadcast.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">8. In
view of current state of technological advancement, it is safe to deduce that
the <em>new</em> mode of broadcasting whose
inclusion is being contemplated in relation to s. 31D via the changes is
“internet broadcasting”. The changes will allow entities that operate over the
Internet medium to apply for a statutory license under s. 31D of the Act. In
the following part, we submit our specific comments in respect of Draft Rules
29,30,31.</p>
<h3><strong>a) Legal
validity of the Rules: Vires vis á vis the Parent Act</strong></h3>
<p>As
per s. 78(2)(cD), the power of the Central Government to make rules in respect
of s. 31D expressly exists in respect of “<em>the
manner in which prior notice may be given by a broadcasting organisation under
sub-section (2) of section 3ID.” </em>Apart from this clause, a general rule-making
power is conferred via s. 78(1) only for carrying out the <em>purposes of the Act</em>. We submit that this general power should be
exercised within limits of rule-making in the nature of administrative and
procedural detail, and should be in consonance with purposes of the Act. In
respect of s. 31D especially, the purpose can be inferred from the legislative
history of the provision. This was analysed by the Bombay High Court in <em>Tips Industries v. Wynk Music,<a name="_ftnref1" href="#_ftn1"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><strong>[1]</strong></span></span></a>
</em>where the court noted that the concerns raised before the Rajya Sabha
Parliamentary Standing Committee (on the Copyright Amendment Bill (2010))
related to radio and television industries only, and in the court’s opinion
those two modes specifically were contemplated while introducing s. 31D.<a name="_ftnref2" href="#_ftn2"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span></span></a> Primarily basis this
rationale, the court concluded that “internet broadcasters” offering on demand
streaming services cannot avail of s. 31D. Further, s.31D(3) expressly permits
the Appellate Board to fix royalty rates only in respect of radio broadcasting
and television broadcasting.</p>
<p>Hence,
we submit that there is no power under s.78 or any other provision in the Act afforded
to the Central Government to expand the scope of s.31D, directly or indirectly.
In <em>State of Karnataka v. Ganesh Kamath</em><a name="_ftnref3" href="#_ftn3"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[3]</span></span></a> the Supreme Court held
that “it is a well settled principle of interpretation of statutes that the
conferment of rule-making power by an Act does not enable the rule-making
authority to make a rule which travels beyond the scope of the enabling Act or
which is inconsistent there with or repugnant thereto”.</p>
<p>Thus,
the extent to which the Draft Rules 29,30,31 alter the intent and scope of s.31D
clearly leaves them ultra vires the parent Act. Rules that are ultra vires the
parent Act for exceeding the limits of subordinate executive power are void.<a name="_ftnref4" href="#_ftn4"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[4]</span></span></a> Hence, the proposed Draft
Rules 29,30,31 are both ultra vires their parent Act and void.</p>
<h3><strong> </strong><strong>b) Implications
of extending legal regime of broadcasting rights to works on the public
Internet</strong></h3>
<p>The
release of the Draft Rules 29,30,31 is another attempt to extend the statutory
licensing to “internet broadcasters”. The first attempt was when the Central
Government released an Office Memorandum<a name="_ftnref5" href="#_ftn5"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[5]</span></span></a> (dated 5<sup>th</sup>
September 2016) to extend statutory licensing under s.31D to “internet
broadcasting” companies. We submit that this was based on an incorrect
statutory construction by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (“<strong>DIPP</strong>”) and was arbitrary in nature. Noted
academics and scholars have highlighted several constitutional infirmities in
respect of this memorandum.<a name="_ftnref6" href="#_ftn6"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[6]</span></span></a> Unfortunately, the current
Draft Rules (29,30,31) raise similar concerns.</p>
<p>Separately,
in the context of introducing a broadcasting right for works shared over the
Internet – we submit that if the line of argument taken by DIPP that s. 2(dd)
read with s. 2(ff) supports the inclusion of “internet broadcasting” is taken
to its logical conclusion, <em>any</em> person/
entity communicating to the general public via the public Internet can claim
protection of their broadcasters’ reproduction right under our Copyright Act. This
“broadcast” will happen via multiple platforms such as YouTube, Facebook Watch,
live-streaming platforms, on-demand platforms, etc., and such entities will be
entitled to enjoyment of this right. This will lead to a dangerous accumulation
of undeserved property rights in Internet giants; unlike traditional
broadcasters these companies never put up initial upfront economic investment
to distribute works to the public. They were launched on the public internet, and
currently thrive primarily off user-generated content. Even in respect of protecting
content that is actually created with their investment, copyright law will
suffice with its remedies for infringement. Hence, there is currently very little economic
and legal basis for extending the legal regime of broadcasting rights for works
on the Internet. Thus, we submit that in the domestic approach to modernising
our copyright legislation, we must refrain from considering distribution of born-digital/
digitised works over the public Internet equivalent to the function of broadcasting
works over cable/ satellite.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph">9.
We
are thankful to DPIIT and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for the
opportunity to make these submissions. It would be our pleasure and privilege
to discuss these submissions and recommendations in detail with members of
DPIIT if the opportunity presents itself.</p>
<p> </p>
<div><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1">
<p><a name="_ftn1" href="#_ftnref1"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></span></a> See Bom (HC) judgment in Case No.
NMCD/72/2019</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p><a name="_ftn2" href="#_ftnref2"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span></span></a> See 227<sup>th</sup> Report of the Rajya Sabha
Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Copyright Amendment Bill (2010)
available at <a href="http://164.100.47.5/newcommittee/reports/EnglishCommittees/Committee%20on%20HRD/227.pdf">http://164.100.47.5/newcommittee/reports/EnglishCommittees/Committee%20on%20HRD/227.pdf</a></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p><a name="_ftn3" href="#_ftnref3"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[3]</span></span></a> (1983) 2 SCC 40</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<p><a name="_ftn4" href="#_ftnref4"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[4]</span></span></a> See <em>Supreme Court Welfare
Association</em> (1989) 4 SCC 187 and <em>State of Karnataka</em> (1983) 2 SCC
402.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<p><a name="_ftn5" href="#_ftnref5"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[5]</span></span></a> See ‘Office Memorandum’ available at <a href="https://dipp.gov.in/sites/default/files/OM_CopyrightAct_05September2016.pdf">https://dipp.gov.in/sites/default/files/OM_CopyrightAct_05September2016.pdf</a></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<p><a name="_ftn6" href="#_ftnref6"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[6]</span></span></a> See <em>Letter to Government on Internet Broadcasts</em> (2016) by Shamnad
Basheer available at <a href="https://spicyip.com/2016/09/letter-to-government-on-internet-broadcasts.html">https://spicyip.com/2016/09/letter-to-government-on-internet-broadcasts.html</a> ; and <em>Licensing of Internet Broadcasts under the Copyright Act: Key
Constitutional Issues</em> (2019) available at <a href="https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2019/01/25/guest-post-licensing-of-internet-broadcasts-under-the-copyright-act-key-constitutional-issues/">https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2019/01/25/guest-post-licensing-of-internet-broadcasts-under-the-copyright-act-key-constitutional-issues/</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/comments-on-the-draft-copyright-amendment-rules-2019-concerning-statutory-licensing'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/comments-on-the-draft-copyright-amendment-rules-2019-concerning-statutory-licensing</a>
</p>
No publishersinhaLicenseBroadcastingCopyrightAccess to Knowledge2019-07-11T07:04:35ZBlog EntryWIPO Regional Seminar on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/wipo-regional-seminar-on-copyright-limitations-and-exceptions-1
<b>Anubha Sinha participated in the WIPO “Regional Seminar for the Asia Pacific Group on Libraries, Archives, Museums and Educational & Research Institutions in the Field of Copyright”, which was held on April 29 and 30, 2019, in Singapore.
</b>
<p>For more info about the event, <a class="external-link" href="https://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=433213">click here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/wipo-regional-seminar-on-copyright-limitations-and-exceptions-1'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/wipo-regional-seminar-on-copyright-limitations-and-exceptions-1</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminCopyrightAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2019-06-05T13:34:54ZNews Item5th Global Congress On IP And The Public Interest: Successes, Strategies Highlighted
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/5th-global-congress-on-ip-and-the-public-interest-successes-strategies-highlighted
<b>More than 400 activists, academics and practitioners from over 50 countries gathered at this year’s Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest, according to organisers.</b>
<p>The story by David Branigan was published in <a class="external-link" href="http://www.ip-watch.org/2018/10/03/5th-global-congress-ip-public-interest-successes-strategies-highlighted/">Intellectual Property Watch</a> on October 3, 2018.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">At the Congress, participants shared success stories, developed strategies, and engaged in critical dialogue to re-think and re-invent intellectual property systems that serve the public interest.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The <a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/5th-global-congress-on-intellectual-property-and-the-public-interest/event-summary-cf2ca0aa63414d4d9dd9dafed6a09a4c.aspx">5th Global Congress on Intellectual Property and The Public Interest</a> was hosted by American University Washington College of Law in Washington, DC from 27-29 September. The core goal of the Congress, according to the website, is “to promote evidence-based policy-making by fostering partnerships between academics and policy advocates from around the world.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Congress featured three concurrent, but interconnected, tracks centred around copyright user rights, access to medicines, and trade. A list of the many panels, workshops and other events of the Congress can be found in the event <a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/5th-global-congress-on-intellectual-property-and-the-public-interest/agenda-cf2ca0aa63414d4d9dd9dafed6a09a4c.aspx">agenda</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Key themes that emerged from the plenary sessions of the Congress include the need to take a critical look at the association between intellectual property and development, the important roles that both IP activism and academic research play in shifting practice, and the complex tension between pursuing incremental IP reform in the short-term, while envisioning and building toward IP system change in the long-term.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Participants were asked by organisers to contribute statements and to vote in an online poll to chart and map participant perspectives at this year’s Congress. The interactive results of the poll can be viewed <a href="https://pol.is/report/r7k76vmnhmnann5npxdmk">here</a>.</p>
<p><b>Access to Medicines Track</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>Intellectual Property Watch</i> followed the access to medicines track throughout the Congress, to develop a broad picture of the persistent challenges and new strategies in this field, and to identify key initiatives to feature in the coming months. Below are some of the themes that emerged over the course of the sessions, along with key highlights.</p>
<p><b>Compulsory Licensing</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Some participants highlighted their countries’ use of compulsory licensing to reduce drug prices and to maximise health budget capacity, with notable examples from Ecuador, Chile and Malaysia. Participants identified that many other countries, however, are not taking full advantage of these flexibilities, which can be partly attributable to a lack of awareness regarding these flexibilities, and a lack of systems to employ them. They noted that this is often compounded by IP-centric technical assistance that frames strong IP systems as necessary for development. Many participants argued that compulsory licensing, along with other intellectual property flexibilities, should be fully normalised, and that IP law should be structured to maximize the use of these flexibilities, rather than treat them as exceptions. Some also argued for the institution of international or regional coordination mechanisms for compulsory licensing.</p>
<p><b>Competition Law</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Many participants, representing activist organisations working for access to medicines, noted that their campaigns were largely focused on the price of a particular drug in a particular country. Pursuing access to medicines on such a piecemeal basis, they explained, does not produce sustainable change within the IP system itself. This, they noted, is a similar challenge faced when issuing compulsory licences. Participants explained that pursuing strategies based in competition law could perhaps offer a more sustainable solution to address excessive pricing across a range of drugs. This strategy, they explained, could move forward key legal reforms to systemically challenge pharmaceutical monopolies and bring about more competitive drug pricing.</p>
<p><b>Innovation</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">According to participants, the term innovation infers a particular narrative, similar to “intellectual property,” and has been used by industry to justify the pharmaceutical patent system. One participant explained that patents are currently being granted on the basis of utility, rather than real inventiveness. He explained that the term innovation has come to represent the industry-led process of shaping markets and cycles of consumption, and that therefore, we need to reconsider our use of the term.</p>
<p><b>Research and Development</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Many participants highlighted the dysfunction of the current monopoly incentive system for pharmaceutical research and development, and advocated for other systems such as delinking the price of pharmaceuticals from the cost of research and development and the volume of sales. Others highlighted examples of how drugs for neglected diseases can be developed and manufactured without intellectual property incentives, and still others how drug licences can be efficiently pooled to facilitate widespread generic drug production. Another participant further illustrated the dysfunction of the current system, noting that much of the research and development of patented pharmaceuticals was publicly funded, and that there needs to be greater public accountability in drug pricing.</p>
<p><b>Medicines as Non-Patentable</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">One important perspective, expressed by participants across tracks, is simply that medicines should be non-patentable and accessible to all people, without restriction.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>Intellectual Property Watch</i> will feature some of the key access to medicines initiatives highlighted at the Congress in greater depth and detail in the coming months.</p>
<p><b>Background of the Global Congress</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The First Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest was held in 2011 at American University Washington College of Law in Washington, DC, and the specific policy goals of the Congress were summarized in the 2011 <a href="http://infojustice.org/washington-declaration-html">Washington Declaration on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Congress was subsequently hosted in 2012 by Centro de Tecnologia e Sociedade of FGV Direito, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2013 by University of Cape Town IP Unit, in Cape Town, South Africa, and in 2015 by the Centre for Internet and Society, in New Delhi, India. Intellectual Property Watch has attended them all.</p>
<p>More background information on the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest can be found at <a href="http://infojustice.org/">infojustice.org</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/5th-global-congress-on-ip-and-the-public-interest-successes-strategies-highlighted'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/5th-global-congress-on-ip-and-the-public-interest-successes-strategies-highlighted</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminIntellectual Property RightsCopyrightAccess to Knowledge2018-10-31T01:57:59ZNews ItemStakeholders Consultation on draft WIPO Treaty to Protect Broadcasting Organization
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/stakeholders-consultation-on-draft-wipo-treaty-to-protect-broadcasting-organization
<b>Anubha Sinha participated in a stakeholder consultation organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India to discuss the various aspects of draft WIPO Treaty to Protect Broadcasting Organization, which is under discussion in Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights at Copyright Office in New Delhi on October 23, 2018.</b>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/files/notice-for-stakeholders-meeting">Notice for the Stakeholders Consultation Meeting</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/files/standing-committee-on-copyright-and-related-rights-thirty-sixth-session/">SCCR 36th Session</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/files/standing-committee-on-copyright-and-related-rights-thirty-seventh-session">SCCR 37th Session</a></li>
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/stakeholders-consultation-on-draft-wipo-treaty-to-protect-broadcasting-organization'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/stakeholders-consultation-on-draft-wipo-treaty-to-protect-broadcasting-organization</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminCopyrightAccess to Knowledge2018-11-14T02:26:56ZNews ItemMaharashtra's Copyright Policy Makes Education Unaffordable
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/asia-times-june-20-anubha-sinha-maharastras-copyright-policy-makes-education-unaffordable
<b>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.</b>
<p>The article was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.atimes.com/maharashtras-copyright-policy-makes-education-unaffordable/">published in Asia Times</a> on June 20, 2018.</p>
<hr />
<p>The stated object of the policy is to prevent commercialization of Balbharati’s physical and digital material.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://ebalbharati.in/main/publicHome.aspx">Balbharati</a> is responsible for setting curriculum and content for Classes 1-10, which is followed by Maharashtra state board schools. It is estimated that that <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/number-of-private-unaided-schools-in-maharashtra-double-in-four-years/story-0066HyTQBPlgQg3NzlX57L.html">around 85,000 schools in Maharashtra</a> follow Balbharati’s prescribed content and syllabus, and the policy is set to affect students’ access to affordable supplementary material in state board schools, especially – most of which belong to the vernacular-rural section of society.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The government faced a backlash from various groups after the policy was released last week.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-balbharti-policy-leaves-private-publishers-in-the-lurch-2622487">Parents have expressed serious concerns</a> about the impending increase in the prices of educational material; publisher groups have already <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/balbharati-text-bureau-tweaks-licence-fee-rule-for-tutorials/articleshow/64620428.cms">declared</a> that the burden will be passed on to students. Some booksellers have <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-balbharti-policy-leaves-private-publishers-in-the-lurch-2622487">stopped selling </a>material altogether until the issue is resolved.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/private-publishers-seek-cm-s-help-to-address-balbharati-copyright-fee/story-w9PzOfxj1ouAgMyJlSTorM.html">Digital and print publishers</a>, booksellers and <a href="http://www.printweek.in/news/publishers-unhappy-balbharati-registration-rules-29712">coaching classes</a> are the ones directly affected, apart from the students, some of whom have lodged appeals with the state education minister, Vinod Tawde, to roll back the policy. Faced with the ire of multiple groups, the state government <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/balbharati-text-bureau-tweaks-licence-fee-rule-for-tutorials/articleshow/64620428.cms">released a revised policy</a> with a new license-fee structure. The new structure is based on “Balbharati Specific Turnover” slabs (defined as turnover of an entity from Balbharati related content), which depends on the nature of content produced – physical, digital, or tuition classes content.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A license is required of any person involved in the business of developing educational material such as guides, reference books, questions or tests, chapter summaries, model practice question papers, interactive digital content and software, with fees chargeable on a per subject, per medium, per grade basis.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The revisions to the policy only allow for a reduction in licensing fees, and it is likely that the government is still in ignorance of serious legal defects in it. Drafted with support from global consulting firm KPMG, the policy uses copyright as an instrument to justify the collection of license fees by making two fallacious assumptions: first, that all material produced by Balbharati is copyrightable; and second, that any dealing in Balbharati’s material, directly or indirectly, amounts to copyright infringement.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For example, the <a href="http://cart.ebalbharati.in/BalBooks/pdfs/1003030024.pdf">English Kumarbharati</a> for Class 10 uses Tagore’s historic poem “Where the mind is held without fear…,” which is a work in the public domain now, and then proceeds to provide certain academic exercises for the reader.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Similarly, for science and mathematics syllabi, where basic facts and fundamental principles are provided and explained, is the Maharashtra government trying to establish copyright over such material, implying that this is creative material that has been developed by Balbharati’s staff?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Much of the content in Balbharati books deals with subjects that have been known to mankind for hundreds of years. Copyright law protects only expression of ideas, and not the ideas per se. Any supplementary material developed by another publisher over Balbharati’s syllabi should not amount to infringement, provided it is not a substantial copy-paste of Balbharati’s own expression in the books – and this is a conservative view of the scenario.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Indian copyright law</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In fact, the Indian Supreme Court in the <a href="http://www.ebc-india.com/downloads/ebc_v_modak.pdf">Eastern Book Company vs Modak</a> (2008) case held that, “to establish copyright, the creativity standard applied is not that something must be novel or non-obvious, but some amount of creativity in the work to claim a copyright is required. Selection and arrangement can be viewed as typical and at best result of the labor, skill and investment of capital lacking even minimal creativity, which does not as a whole display sufficient originality so as to amount to an original work of the author.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“To claim copyright, there must be some substantive variation and not just a trivial variation, not the variation of the type where limited ways of expression available and author selects one of them.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Thus the policy fails to appreciate fundamental developments in Indian law and places a barrier to creation of all kinds of educational material – without distinguishing between various kinds of supplementary material and showing precisely as to what nature and quantum of use as per Balbharati would qualify as infringing.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Interestingly, the previous version of the policy contained an FAQ (frequently asked questions) section that elaborated principles of copyright law. However, this section has been removed in the latest version. In any case, the FAQs presented incomplete explanations of Indian copyright jurisprudence, making references to outdated case law.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As noted earlier, publishers and digital content development companies are already suffering from the ramifications. In places where the quality of classroom teaching and learning is sub-par, it is unacceptable to deprive students access to <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/costly-balbharati-licences-may-not-have-any-takers/articleshow/64361276.cms">affordable</a> guides, reference books, digital content, and so on by unreasonably deeming indirect usage of Balbharati’s content as infringing activity.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Given India’s socio-economic conditions, it would be fatal to implement policies that seek to create a self-serving market of educational licenses for the state, very much at the expense of ensuring quality and affordable education. At the very least, the Maharashtra government should have conducted a proper public-consultation exercise before arriving at such a policy that stands to affect students and other stakeholders in the education system adversely.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/asia-times-june-20-anubha-sinha-maharastras-copyright-policy-makes-education-unaffordable'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/asia-times-june-20-anubha-sinha-maharastras-copyright-policy-makes-education-unaffordable</a>
</p>
No publishersinhaCopyrightAccess to Knowledge2018-06-26T14:22:30ZBlog EntryIn a first, Indian Singers Rights' Association distributes royalty
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/the-news-minute-april-14-2018-first-indian-singers-rights-association-distributes-royalty
<b>While singers say this benefits out of job artistes, the transparency in distribution remains questionable.</b>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify; ">This info was published by the <a class="external-link" href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/first-indian-singers-rights-association-distributes-royalty-79581">News Minute</a> on April 14, 2018.</p>
<hr />
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify; ">In a first, the Indian Singers Rights’ Association (ISRA) distributed Rs 51 lakh in royalties to singers on Friday. The beneficiaries included popular playback singers KS Chitra, P Susheela, KJ Yesudas, SP Balasubrahmanyam and Srinivas.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify; ">Speaking to The Hindu, ISRA CEO Sanjay Tandon <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/playback-singers-get-royalty-for-first-time/article23531481.ece" target="_blank">said</a>, “This ₹51 lakh royalty money will grow 10 fold if and when radio channels, television channels and mobile companies start paying us. Right now, only IPL teams, amusement parks and few other establishments have paid the royalty money.”</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify; ">Speaking to media persons at the event, singer SP Balasubrahmanyam said, "The government has given a rule saying that royalty should reach the singers as well. This programme is organised to give a part of the shares to singers in South India. This is a good thing to be welcomed.”</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify; ">In March last year, SPB and others were slapped with legal notices by renowned music director Ilaiyaraaja over performing his compositions without his explicit permission and a payment of royalty to him. While this took the singers by surprise, experts had clarified that Ilaiyaraaja was right in asking for royalty as long as he owned the copyright to the music.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify; ">Speaking to Puthiya Thalaimurai channel, singer Chitra said, "Everyone knows a singer doesn't have pension or anything. After they sing, if the song is a hit, they will get a few shows here and there. We know a lot of people who are struggling to live. This will definitely help them, especially when they are aged and cannot go to work. This royalty will really be useful. We welcome this."</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify; ">Singer Srinivas added, "This is not the case where you give money to someone who already has money. This is for a singer who has disappeared after singing 4- 5 songs. He's probably struggling in a village. When the money reaches him, it is a big thing. If we meet that social responsibility, it would be a success."</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify; ">However, if royalty would go to singers of all ranks remains unclear.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify; ">In a <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/comparative-transparency-review-of-collective-management-organisations-in-india-uk-usa" target="_blank">transparency review</a> conducted by the Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru, that compares the publicly available information on the websites of music collective management organisations(CMOs), ISRA did not <a href="http://isracopyright.com/distribution_scheme.php" target="_blank">detail</a> the “distribution of percentages, nor the administrative cut it seeks to take” as per the Copyright Amendment Act 2012.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/the-news-minute-april-14-2018-first-indian-singers-rights-association-distributes-royalty'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/the-news-minute-april-14-2018-first-indian-singers-rights-association-distributes-royalty</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaCopyrightAccess to Knowledge2018-04-17T14:21:27ZNews Item35th SCCR: CIS' Question to Dr. Rostama on her Study on the Impact of the Digital Environment on Copyright Legislation
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-question-to-dr-rostama-on-her-study-on-the-impact-of-the-digital-environment-on-copyright-legislation
<b>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. </b>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>Thank you for the presentation, Dr. Rostamma.</p>
<p>My question relates to provisions allowing reverse
engineering of computer programmes. You mentioned that 81% of member states (with the scope of your study)
have exceptions for compilation and interoperability of computer programmes.</p>
<p>Can you comment, qualitatively, on how open/ strict you have
found the limitations and exceptions to be in your study? Is there a member
state that stands out in its treatment of limitations and exceptions for
computer programmers, and/or users of such digital objects?</p>
<p><strong>Answer: I would not like to make any
qualitative comments.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Read Dr. Rostamma's study <a class="external-link" href="http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/copyright/en/sccr_35/sccr_35_4.pdf">here</a></em>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-question-to-dr-rostama-on-her-study-on-the-impact-of-the-digital-environment-on-copyright-legislation'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-question-to-dr-rostama-on-her-study-on-the-impact-of-the-digital-environment-on-copyright-legislation</a>
</p>
No publishersinhaWIPOCopyrightAccess to KnowledgeLimitations & Exceptions2017-11-19T07:50:49ZBlog Entry35th SCCR: CIS Statement on GRULAC Proposal for Analysis of Copyright in the Digital Environment
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-statement-on-grulac-proposal-for-analysis-of-copyright-in-the-digital-environment
<b>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. </b>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>We would like to reiterate the importance of GRULAC Proposal
for Analysis of Copyright in the Digital Environment.</p>
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society is a non-profit
organisation in India that undertakes research on internet and digital
technologies from an academic and policy perspective.</p>
<p>In an environment of monopolies controlling the distribution
of digital goods and services, which connect users and creators, such a
comprehensive study assumes significant importance, especially for creators in the
global south.</p>
<p>We are especially concerned with the methods by which platform
intermediaries are enforcing their private IP rules on creators worldwide,
and if there are fair systems in place to address takedown, and the subsequent restoration
of works unfairly taken down from their platforms. It must be noted that there
is a serious lack of transparency as far as the conduct of such intermediaries
go, and often actions are taken without appropriate justification/explanation.</p>
<p>It is equally important that we continue to build on limitations
and exceptions for libraries, museums, archives, educational institutions,
researchers, and users’ in the digital environment.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-statement-on-grulac-proposal-for-analysis-of-copyright-in-the-digital-environment'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-statement-on-grulac-proposal-for-analysis-of-copyright-in-the-digital-environment</a>
</p>
No publishersinhaWIPOCopyrightAccess to KnowledgeLimitations & Exceptions2017-11-17T10:03:21ZBlog EntryRCEP IP Chapter: A Serious Threat to Access to Knowledge/ Cultural Goods?
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/live-law-arul-george-scaria-and-anubha-sinha-live-law-rcep-ip-chapter-serious-threat-access-knowledge-cultural-goods
<b>Negotiators from sixteen countries are currently meeting in Hyderabad for discussing a free trade agreement titled Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).</b>
<p>The blog post was published by <a class="external-link" href="http://www.livelaw.in/rcep-ip-chapter-serious-threat-access-knowledge-cultural-goods/">Live Law.in</a> on July 27, 2017.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Looking at the latest available IP chapter (leak dated October 15, 2015), RCEP stands to adversely affect nearly half of the world’s population on areas like access to knowledge and access to medicines. We would like to highlight five issues related to access to knowledge/ cultural goods, based on the leaked IP chapter.</p>
<div>
<h3>Clear neglect of users’ rights</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As different scholars and courts have tried to point out, copyright is not just about the rights of creators, but also those of users. The agreement will hurt this balance embedded in our copyright law. The balance within the copyright system is ensured by a set of limitations and exceptions which permit free uses for purposes like education, research, etc., thereby serving interests of students,researchers, educators, computer programmers, and persons with disabilities. Studies have also pointed out that industries that depend on limitations and exceptions also contribute substantially to economic growth. For example a recent study (by Computer and Communications Industry Association) in the US found that companies that extensively rely on limitations and exceptions, like media device manufacturers, software developers, internet search and web-hosting providers, and educational institutions, represent one-sixth of the US GDP. Thus, it follows that when countries revise their copyright legislations they should make sure that it fairly benefits right holders as well as users, and not just benefit right holders at the expense of the users which is what is transpiring at RCEP. The language of the agreement indicates that while it is mandatory for countries to increase protection for right holders, a commitment to restore balance via limitations and exceptions is only optional or worse, absent.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Broadcasters' Rights</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The provisions regarding broadcasters’ rights also pose many concerns. First, RCEP engages in term extension without providing any economic rationale. The minimum term of protection stipulated under the Rome Treaty of 1961 (the major multilateral treaty in this area) is 20 years and India provides a term of 25 years for broadcasters rights.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The attempts to increase the term of protection to 50 years through RCEP, without conducting any impact assessment of the term extension on access to knowledge and cultural goods, is against public interest. Second, WIPO has been attempting to evolve a multilateral treaty on broadcasters’ rights for the last two decades and one of the major stumbling blocks in this regard is the lack of consensus among member states on what should be protected under the ‘broadcasters’ rights’ for purposes such as educational uses and private uses. RCEP provisions on broadcasters’ rights have conveniently ignored such exceptions and this again illustrates that the focus of RCEP is only on protecting the rightholders and not that of users.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Copyright enforcement</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Many of the enforcement related provisions are as problematic. This includes proposals for taking into consideration suggested retail price (SRP) or market value of goods for valuation of the infringing goods as well as for making available pre-determined damages for copyright violations on the election of the right holder. In jurisdictions like the US, this has resulted in local courts being forced to grant millions in damages for even minor copyright infringements. It is also important to mention here that some of the enforcement related provisions can also result in serious privacy violations. This includes the suggestion for adding obligations on internet service providers to disclose to the rightholders the identity of users suspected to be engaging in infringing activities.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Ensuring transparency and accountability</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The most troubling aspect of RCEP is that all the negotiations are being conducted in utmost secrecy without any public participation. Though the negotiators have already completed eighteen rounds of discussion, the negotiating text hasn’t been released officially and neither been a subject of parliamentary discussion nor public consultation. The public has a right to know what is being negotiated on their behalf and countries like India must take steps to release the negotiation text without any further delay. It is important to note that all these TRIPS-plus measures are being suggested without any consideration for the potential negative consequences on the society and therefore India must resist these TRIPS-plus provisions.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/live-law-arul-george-scaria-and-anubha-sinha-live-law-rcep-ip-chapter-serious-threat-access-knowledge-cultural-goods'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/live-law-arul-george-scaria-and-anubha-sinha-live-law-rcep-ip-chapter-serious-threat-access-knowledge-cultural-goods</a>
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No publisherArul George Scaria and Anubha SinhaCopyrightAccess to Knowledge2017-08-01T15:24:51ZBlog EntryPlagiarism is rampant in Indian food writing – but finally, bloggers have a way to fight it
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/scroll-july-4-2017-chanpreet-khurana-plagiarism-is-rampant-in-indian-food-writing-but-finally-bloggers-have-a-way-to-fight-it
<b>“We have been cheated,” declared the headline of the blog post making the rounds of social media on April 25.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The blogpost by Chanpreet Khurana was published by <a class="external-link" href="https://scroll.in/magazine/837273/plagiarism-is-rampant-in-indian-food-writing-but-finally-bloggers-have-a-way-to-fight-it">Scroll.in</a> on July 4, 2017. Sunil Abraham was quoted.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The post, written by Rajkumar Saxena, former head of Mumbai’s Institute of Hotel Management, alleged that passages from his 1997 book on Awadhi cuisine, <i>Dastarkhwan-e-Awadh</i>,<i> </i>had been plagiarised by Sunil Soni, a veteran chef, in his new book titled <i>Jashn-e-Oudh: Romance of the Cuisine</i>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The blog’s text, like the headline, dripped with hurt and contempt: “Here is a case of… a learned, literate person who has no qualms about unhesitatingly lifting word-by-word the explanations, recipes etc. from [a] book authored by us and claiming it to be his original work…” Images from the two books were embedded to support the allegation. “We need to name and shame such so-called experts through social media. We seek your support…”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The support came almost immediately.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Celebrity chef Ranveer Brar, who had written the foreword for Soni’s book, <a class="link-external" href="https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1411953382194704&id=545723678817683&p=0&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1411953382194704%3Atl_objid.1411953382194704%3Athid.545723678817683" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">announced on Facebook</a> that he wanted the author to remove it. Outrage also erupted on the wall of Food Bloggers’ Hall of Shame, a closed Facebook group of 421 members dedicated to fighting plagiarism in food writing and photography in India. “How can people even think that they can get away with such a shameless act of plagiarising?” wrote Anushruti RK.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It was an organic reaction. By blogging about his grievance, Saxena had tapped into the one space that Indian food writers are increasingly using today to redress the alleged plagiarism in food writing – social media.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“As a community, we are now discovering an average of one or two plagiarist websites/aggregators every week,” said Rhea Mitra-Dalal, the administrator of the Food Bloggers’ Hall of Shame, which shares dos and don’ts with members to protect their work. “We’ve had several run-ins with celebrity chefs, big food brands, restaurants, and food businesses, especially on their social media pages, where we have found plagiarised images. Public outcry on those pages has usually worked and we have got the plagiarised content down, but these are episodic and the basic mind-set hasn’t changed: it is fine to plagiarise, just apologise and take it down when caught.”</p>
<h3 class="cms-block-heading cms-block" style="text-align: justify; ">Cease and desist</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Saxena’s blog post was a last resort. He says he had first noticed the alleged plagiarism – “42 recipes, 24 explanatory notes and 12 chapter notes,” according to him – in <i>Jashn-e-Oudh</i> in January, and had informed his publisher HarperCollins India. HarperCollins responded by sending a cease-and-desist notice to Soni, copying his publisher Shubhi Publications, and set three demands: remove the offending material from <i>Jashn-e-Oudh</i>, acknowledge the copyright of the authors of <i>Dastarkhwan-e-Awadh</i>, and pay Rs 5 lakh.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Soni and Sanjay Arya of Shubhi Publications claim they never received this notice.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On April 10, Saxena says he got an email from HarperCollins telling him it will not be pursuing the matter further because “currently HCI has put on hold all litigations due to some business-related issues”. “The copyright is definitely in your favour,” declared the email. “You are free to litigate this matter and file a suit for injunction. As far as shaming the authors/publisher on social media is concerned, as a publisher, we cannot opine on that. It is your personal decision...”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">So, a fortnight later, Saxena did just that: he took his complaint to the internet.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Around the same time, he and his co-author Sangeeta Bhatnagar sent a legal notice, through their lawyer, to Soni to cease and desist from further publication and distribution of <i>Jashn-e-Oudh</i>, and demanded Rs 15 lakh in compensation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This time, they got a seven-page response from Soni’s lawyer.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While denying the accusation of plagiarism, the response from Soni’s lawyer said, “Your clients are liable to show their copyright in the alleged infringed work of our client as no copyright can be claimed in the traditional recipes and their preparation as same will be similar across the globe to get the same taste.” It added that no copyright can be claimed on the subject of Awadhi recipes since it is “a common topic and known and available to the general public at large. All the recipes mentioned in the alleged publication are known in the market”.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Soni also denied the allegation when contacted for comment by <i>Scroll.in</i>.</p>
<h3 class="cms-block-heading cms-block" style="text-align: justify; ">Looking West</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The reply from Soni’s lawyer makes some sound legal points, all of which, according to food bloggers, are reasons why food plagiarism is so hard to prove: a recipe that is a list of ingredients cannot be copyrighted. Nor can a traditional cooking method be seen as the property of any author. Reproducing these, therefore, is not plagiarism.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">However, substantial literary and artistic expressions are copyrightable, according to the US Copyright Office, and reproducing these is unlawful. Another suspect action is when a chef’s work is tweaked by changing just one or two ingredients. In 2012, the Food Network in the US cancelled chef Anne Thornton’s TV show <i>Dessert First</i>, because some of her recipes were only mildly different from those created by superchefs like Martha Stewart.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Bloggers like Mitra Dalal lean on these definitions to call their content original. “Most of us have unique styles of writing, and we often include anecdotes and other content to our posts,” she said. “So copy-pastes can often be quite correctly identified.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Another useful metric, according to Mitra Dalal, are rules set in more mature markets where bloggers have already fought, and won, battles.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“There are international guidelines for this,” she explained. “Loosely put, if every third word is different, the text cannot be deemed plagiarised. Also, you cannot say that an ingredient list is plagiarised.”</p>
<h3 class="cms-block-heading cms-block" style="text-align: justify; ">Small wins</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Mitra Dalal and other food bloggers often fight their battles outside the court of law, which is good and bad. On the plus side, it’s faster and easier for them to control the context – but on the minus side, the wins are relatively small.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In July last year, for instance, 20 food bloggers alleged that the recipe aggregating app The Frying Pan had <a class="link-external" href="https://factordaily.com/bloggers-vs-frying-pan-copyright-content-aggregation/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">plagiarised</a> their work. They lawyered up, and got ready for a legal battle.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“The Frying Pan had published our recipes and photographs without proper attribution, and without our consent,” said Deeba Rajpal, one of the 20 complainants. “We were advised that if we sought compensation, it would be a long haul. So, we only asked The Frying Pan to take our content down and never to use our work again without permission.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The case didn’t go to court. The lawyers met and reached an agreement, according to Rajpal. “The app took our content down. The case never had a proper conclusion – it fizzled out.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Except on social media, where the Food Bloggers’ Hall of Shame kept the pressure up, slamming The Frying Pan – hard.</p>
<h3 class="cms-block-heading cms-block" style="text-align: justify; ">Can Google help?</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Proving plagiarism in food writing is difficult at any rate, but there are factors that complicate the matter in India, according to Sunil Abraham of The Centre for Internet and Society.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The copyright law here, he says, has inbuilt exceptions and limitations that protect the rights of stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, content creators, consumers, the public who may not pay for the content, and the government.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Many times, copyright holders in India have conceded or withdrawn legal cases because of limitations to the copyright law or the doctrine of fair use, which states that “brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim”. Just in February, a handful of publishers took back a lawsuit against a photocopier shop in Delhi University that had been selling study packs with materials reproduced from the publishers’ books.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Abraham said that often there is an economic incentive for plagiarising – take that away, and you fix half the problem.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For bloggers, a major source of income is Google AdSense, a popular <a class="link-external" href="http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/adsense.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">program</a> that allows website publishers to display ads on their pages and “earn money when visitors view or click the ads”. The problem is: if the advertiser cares only about page views and not the origin of the content, there is no incentive against plagiarism.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For checking online copyright infringement, Abraham says, the onus should be on multinationals like Google, which host a large number of blogs and web versions of media articles. “Google is constantly indexing the internet,” he said in a phone interview from Bengaluru, so Google knows when a write-up or a photo has been published before.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To be fair, according to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Google does entertain requests to remove online posts where a complainant can show copyright infringement. It’s a recourse that Mitra Dalal and some members of her Facebook group have found useful. But Abraham says this is less effective than if Google created hurdles to publishing content it deems plagiarised.</p>
<h3 class="cms-block-heading cms-block" style="text-align: justify; ">Need for reforms</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Where does all this leave Saxena? It’s hard to tell.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Social media has generated awareness about his case, and Saxena has filed a complaint with the Delhi Police under Section 63 of the Indian Copyright Act. He plans to follow it up with a legal case. One thing that has certainly resulted from the episode is the food writing community’s intensified demand for clarity in laws to protect intellectual property.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As Saee Koranne-Khandekar, who blogs at <a class="link-external" href="http://www.myjhola.in/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">myjhola.in</a>, wrote on Food Bloggers’ Hall of Shame: “What’s amazing is that the original work [by Saxena and Bhatnagar] has gone through three successful editions, is published by a major player, and is written by two prominent names in the industry. One would think theft of content would occur in the case of less lesser known works, but this is pure guts! I hope at least this incident marks the immediate need for reform in our laws.”</p>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/scroll-july-4-2017-chanpreet-khurana-plagiarism-is-rampant-in-indian-food-writing-but-finally-bloggers-have-a-way-to-fight-it'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/scroll-july-4-2017-chanpreet-khurana-plagiarism-is-rampant-in-indian-food-writing-but-finally-bloggers-have-a-way-to-fight-it</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaPlagiarismCopyrightAccess to Knowledge2017-07-06T15:53:46ZNews Item