[ga] Re: [Ecommerce] US Library groups write WIPO to support meeting on open collaborative models for development of public goods

[Jeff Williams <jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

James and all,

 We [INEGroup] agree that this conference and even perhaps a series
of conferences would be advisable for WIPO to conduct in order
to engender broad participation and better transparency in WIPO's
operations and activities.

  We would suggest that a number of venues be considered
and determined in many countries which have stakeholders/users
of interest to participate actively or that said conferences be
held online.

  Thank you for your cooperation and consideration in advance.

James Love wrote:

> The Executive Directors of the US American Association of Law Libraries,
>
> the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries,
> the Medical Library Association and the Special Libraries Association
> have written letters to Kamil Idris at WIPO and to USPTO, urging
> support for a meeting at WIPO on open collaborative models for the
> development of public goods.  Here are links to both letters, and the
> text of the letter to WIPO.   Jamie
>
> (letter to USPTO
> http://www.cptech.org/ip/wipo/libraries2PTO090403.pdf )
>
> (Letter to WIPO)
> http://www.cptech.org/ip/wipo/libraries2WIPO090403.pdf
>
> September 4, 2003
>
> VIA FACSIMILE AND EXPRESS MAIL
> 41-22-733-54-28
>
> Dr. Kamil Idris
> Director General
> World Intellectual Property Organization
> 34, Chemin des Colombettes
> 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
>
> Dear Dr. Idris:
>
> I am writing to you on behalf of the American
> Association of Law Libraries, the American Library
> Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the
> Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries
> Association. We write to express our surprise and dismay at
> recent press reports that the World Intellectual Property
> Organization may not take up an important recent proposal to
> hold a conference on open and collaborative models for
> development of public goods. The proposal was made in a
> letter to you dated July 7, 2003, signed by several dozen
> distinguished scientists, academics, technologists, open-
> source advocates, consumer advocates, librarians, industry
> representatives and economists worldwide. We urge WIPO to
> hold such a conference in 2004 as proposed.
>
> The application of open and collaborative models raises
> important intellectual property issues for the international
> community that WIPO should be addressing. These models are
> experiments in creative use of intellectual property law to
> achieve socially responsible and productive ends. The
> letter discusses the importance of these models to such
> varied efforts as development of the Internet and World Wide
> Web, the Human Genome Project and other biotechnological
> research, promotion of civil uses of global positioning
> system technology, and access to academic research in the
> developing world, as well as the benefits to software
> development and use of free and open source access to
> software code. We understand WIPO has received expressions
> of concern regarding the propriety of its addressing free
> and open source software. As the examples offered in the
> proposal reflect, however, free and open source software and
> other open and collaborative models are relevant to WIPO?s
> mission and of potentially profound importance to myriad
> aspects of social and economic development.
>
> Open source software is itself clearly an important
> topic for WIPO to consider. Its use and potential are
> intimately related to copyright and patent law and policy.
> It is essential that this model be taken into account as the
> international community considers the future of intellectual
> property rights relating to information technology.
> Consideration of other open and collaborative models will be
> similarly critical to sound development of patent and other
> forms of intellectual property protection. In short,
> consideration of these models falls squarely within the
> scope of WIPO?s mandate as the primary international forum
> for intellectual property policy.
>
> We applaud WIPO?s enthusiastic response to this civil
> society proposal to address an important intellectual
> property topic arising from new technologies and business
> practices. It is well established that WIPO?s mission
> includes anticipating the priorities of member states and
> focusing on challenges and opportunities presented by such
> new technologies and practices. It is also clearly
> recognized that industry and non-governmental organizations
> are important WIPO constituents in their own right. In
> fact, an express goal of WIPO is to develop increasingly
> strong relationships with the various segments of civil
> society. These mission objectives and principles are
> articulated, for example, in the Vision and Strategic
> Direction of WIPO, endorsed by the Assemblies of the Member
> States of WIPO in their Thirty-Fourth Series of meetings,
> Geneva, September 20 to 29, 1999.
>
> We appreciate that WIPO must operate within strict
> budgetary constraints, and that its annual program is
> accordingly carefully defined. Hosting any conference
> requires the expenditure of significant resources of time
> and money. The topic of open and collaborative models is
> important and timely, however. We believe a conference to
> address this topic should be viewed as a priority for 2004.
> While such a conference may not have been expressly
> contemplated during its preparation, the Revised Proposal
> for Program and Budget 2004-2005 includes a number of
> programs the articulated goals of which could be
> substantially furthered by a conference on open and
> collaborative models. Such programs include: Program 5,
> ?Copyright and Related Rights;? Program 7, ?Selected Issues
> of Intellectual Property Protection;? and Program 11,
> ?Intellectual Property for Development and Prosperity;
> Creation of IP Culture.?
>
> In light of the strong views expressed about this
> proposal to date, it may be appropriate for the membership
> to consider formally whether WIPO should hold such a
> conference, to provide the organization clear direction as
> to how it can and should proceed. Accordingly, the issue
> of whether to hold a conference on open and collaborative
> models could be addressed at the next Program and Budget
> Committee meeting scheduled for September 8-10. Regardless
> of the process adopted to review the proposal, we strongly
> support WIPO?s holding such a conference in 2004 and greatly
> appreciate the ongoing efforts WIPO is making to reach out
> to the members of civil society.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Susan Fox
> Executive Director
> American Association of Law Libraries
>
> Keith Fiels
> Executive Director
> American Library Association
>
> Duane E. Webster
> Executive Director
> Association of Research Libraries
>
> Carla J. Funk
> Executive Director
> Medical Library Association
>
> Janice R. Lachance
> Executive Director
> Special Libraries Association
>
> cc: James E. Rogan, United States Patent and Trademark
> Office
> Lois E. Boland, United States Patent and Trademark
> Office
> Marybeth Peters, United States Copyright Office
>
> The American Library Association (?ALA?) is a nonprofit
> educational organization of approximately 65,000 librarians,
> library educators, information specialists, library
> trustees, and friends of libraries representing public,
> school, academic, state, and specialized libraries. ALA is
> dedicated to the improvement of library and information
> services and the public?s right to a free and open
> information society.
>
> The Association of Research Libraries (?ARL?) is a nonprofit
> association of 123 research libraries in North America.
> ARL?s members include university libraries, public
> libraries, government and national libraries. Its mission is
> to shape and influence forces affecting the future of
> research libraries in the process of scholarly
> communication. ARL programs and services promote equitable
> access to and effective uses of recorded knowledge in
> support of teaching, research, scholarship and community
> service.
>
> The American Association of Law Libraries (?AALL?) is a
> nonprofit educational organization with over 5,000 members
> nationwide. AALL's mission is to promote and enhance the
> value of law libraries to the legal and public communities,
> to foster the profession of law librarianship, and to
> provide leadership in the field of legal information and
> information policy.
>
> The Medical Library Association (?MLA?) is a nonprofit
> educational organization of more than 900 institutions and
> 3,800 individual members in the health sciences information
> field committed to educating health information
> professionals, supporting health information research,
> promoting access to the world's health sciences information,
> and working to ensure that the best health information is
> available to all.
>
> The Special Libraries Association (?SLA?) is a nonprofit,
> educational organization serving more than 13,000 members of
> the information profession, including special librarians,
> information managers, brokers, and consultants.
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Ecommerce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/ecommerce

Regards,

--
Jeffrey A. Williams
Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 131k members/stakeholders strong!)
"Be precise in the use of words and expect precision from others" -
    Pierre Abelard
===============================================================
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