Guest Post: Copyright in Social media – AFP v. Daniel Morel

/ By / Copyright

With social media interactions on the rise, it seems to be just a matter of time before questions of copyright infringement and issues over terms of service relating to social media start pouring into the courts. L. Gopika Murthy takes one such situation that’s arisen in an American case and examines how it may have been handled in India. This is her third submission in the SpicyIP Fellowship applicant series. This post discusses the issues regarding copyright of content posted on […]

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Open Access: What is it about?

/ By / Uncategorized

Aaron Swartz’s recent suicide has sparked discussion all over the internet, with much of it to do with his  strong belief in the moral imperative of sharing scholarship and making it accessible to all. There’s a certain strong raw attraction towards this idea, however, it’s practicality is far from a simple matter. It’s a rather complicated and nuanced question that needs more serious discussion along with the impassioned cries. I found myself in one of these discussions, (sparked by Shashank

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The political economy of the current round of compulsory licensing in India

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Yusuf Hamied (Image from here) The present round of compulsory licencing which has been kick-started by the DIPP, is widely seen as the fruits of a sustained lobbying effort by the generic pharmaceutical lobby. While the media is yet to identify, the ‘masterminds’ behind the lobbying, the final result of the lobbying effort is keeping in line with the demands of Yusuf Hamied, the head of Cipla. (For our previous posts on these issues please click hereand here) Ever since,

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Guest Post: Examining the Recently Announced Compulsory Licenses on anticancer drugs

/ By / Patent

In light of the recent decision to issue compulsory licenses for three anti-cancer drugs, Madhulika Vishwanathan brings us her third submission for our SpicyIP Fellowship application. After looking into the possible legal provisions that could have been used in pursuing this decision, she examines how generics may follow up on this decision by noting the differences in approach that they will have to take regarding small molecule drugs and biologics. (Note: Much of the first half includes quoted provisions, so

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The S(war)tz Legacy and "Open" Lessons for India

/ By / Copyright

Aaron Swartz is no longer with us; a towering intellect he was, representing the best of conviction and passion in a world where, as the poet Yeats sadly noted:    “The best lack all conviction,   while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”    As this blog debates the “proportionality” of the US response to this access to knowledge crusader and the causal linkage between the prosecution and his death, I wanted to reflect for a moment on his

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SpicyIP Events: Patracode announces Workshop on Tools for Researching and Managing Intellectual Property

/ By / Others

  SpicyIP is pleased to announce Patracode’s workshop on tools for researching and managing Intellectual Property. Interested participants should note that while there is no registration fee, seats are limited, so all interested parties are requested to confirm by January 21st, 2013. More details as stated below: “Patracode, founded in 2010, is a unit of quick learners who are actively involved in catering the needs of seekers in the field Intellectual Property. They have earned good experience of handling the

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Mark Lynas, former anti-GM food activist embraces GM foods at Oxford Conference

/ By / Others

Image from here In a surprising turn of events, Mark Lynas, a former campaigner against genetically modified foods has completely reversed his views on the topic at a conference in Oxford and has now given genetically modified food his stamp of approval. Earlier in his career, Mark Lynas, reportedly played a key role in the anti-GM campaign in both Europe and India, where GM food remains banned due to poor public confidence in the safety of the food. Lynas appears

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Rebutting ad hominem Twitter attacks

/ By / Copyright

I was aware that I would receive some amount of criticism for my last post on the Swartz suicide given that I am criticized for pretty much anything that I write these days but I was surprised to hear some vicious criticism from some unexpected sources, namely Nandita Saika, a media and tech lawyer who maintains an interesting blog on Indian copyright law which you can access over here, in case you haven’t yet already heard of it.  On her

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IP ideologies and the Swartz suicide

/ By / Copyright

Image from here I had never heard about Aaron Swartz until Swaraj’s post below about his life and suicide. The internet is now abuzz with news reports about Swartz’s suicide, his ‘heroism’ and ‘bullying’ by the prosecutors of the U.S. Government. While not everybody is saying it in so many words, the overwhelming trend appears to blame the federal government prosecution of Swartz for his suicide. This, despite the fact there is no conclusive proof of such a link. Swartz

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Aaron Swartz, RIP

/ By / Copyright

See Cory Doctorow’s eulogy here Some of us in India may not have heard of Aaron Swartz, a 26 year old activist who was heavily involved in copyright policy issues and issues surrounding technology freedom. He committed suicide on Jan 11th, 2013 and his story is a sad one which is certainly worth sharing. However, what’s also important to note, are the circumstances which may have led his eventual suicide. While it cannot be confirmed, it appears that his arrest and indictment

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