<div dir="ltr">I forget the speaker name , but During the last talk, I gave a pointer to code birthmarking, please forward this to the speaker,<br><a href="http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/25/1648253&from=rss">http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/25/1648253&from=rss</a><br>
<a href="http://www.st.cs.uni-sb.de/birthmarking/">http://www.st.cs.uni-sb.de/birthmarking/</a><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Sep 29, 2008 at 11:24 PM, Anivar Aravind <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:anivar.aravind@gmail.com">anivar.aravind@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">*Please Circulate widely*<br>
With Usual apologies for X-posting<br>
<br>
<br>
On behalf of the organizers,<br>
Free Software Users Group- Bangalore<br>
cordially invites you to<br>
<br>
The National Public Meeting on Software Patents<br>
====================================<br>
<br>
<br>
==Venue==<br>
<br>
2nd Floor, Ecumenical Resource Centre,<br>
United Theological College,<br>
Millers Road, Benson Town.<br>
(Behind Cantonment Railway Station)<br>
Bangalore¨C560046<br>
<br>
==Time==<br>
<br>
10:00¨C17:00<br>
Saturday, October 4, 2008<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Software patents in India occupy a contentious and indeterminate legal<br>
space. While recent amendments to the Patent Act have sought to bring<br>
our law in conformity with WTO-mandated standards, these amendments have<br>
shied from pronouncing conclusively on the patentability of software.<br>
The result is an equivocation in the law which is being wrestled<br>
aggressively and effectively by corporate interests, patent attorneys<br>
and the Patent Office in favour of granting software patents. Unheard,<br>
and so unrepresented in this powerful triad are the interests of<br>
millions of citizen-consumers who are either presumed too ignorant to be<br>
credited with a view on the issue, or are presumed to be irrelevant to<br>
the determination of issues which are seen as purely "business" matters<br>
(as opposed to "citizen" matters).<br>
<br>
Software is everywhere you look (and many places you never think<br>
of looking). With the explosion of low-cost computing devices (think<br>
mobile phones and iPods), software has leaked out of its traditional<br>
home¡ªthe PC¡ªand begun infiltrating various aspects of our lives. From<br>
traffic signals to toilet commodes in some countries, refrigerators to<br>
railway tickets, vacuum cleaners and electronic voting machines, TVs,<br>
refrigerators and electronic pacemakers, inanimate objects of all sizes<br>
are humming to themselves, chattering amongst themselves in an<br>
intricate, highly complex tongue called 'software' that few of us can<br>
ever hope to understand. On the impulses of software, we stop or move on<br>
streets, fill up on petrol, and elect governments. Someone's heart<br>
beats. Someone else receives land records on a village kiosk. Someone is<br>
standing by helplessly for fourteen years (the un-evergreened term of a<br>
patent) because software failed to factor in her disability.<br>
<br>
There are big stakes involved in the control of software in an era<br>
when software is becoming increasingly central to the way we humans<br>
organize our lives and inhabit a democracy. At one level this is about<br>
preserving the right of agency and self-direction that citizens have in<br>
their own lives. At another, it is about the right not to be silenced<br>
when our long-fought democratic republic is at risk of being diminished<br>
by a few lines of software in a machine. Whether or not we are all in<br>
fact capable of deciphering software is inessential. Those of us who are<br>
ought not to be denied the freedom to interrogate, tinker and improve.<br>
<br>
Patents have the effect of adding an additional layer of 'protection'<br>
to already existing copyright protection of software, while<br>
simultaneously overriding the various affordances and safeguards built<br>
into copyright law. For instance, the right of "fair dealing" under<br>
copyright law permits users to examine and modify any software in order<br>
to make it interoperable with other software. This is an extremely<br>
potent right that reasserts our right to intervene in the shaping of our<br>
surroundings. It is also one of the rights that is most imperiled by<br>
software patents.<br>
<br>
The present "public hearing" on software patents is an invitation<br>
for dialogue on the various issue surrounding software patents.<br>
Although the Patent Office had scheduled a public consultation on its<br>
Draft Patent Manual to be held in Bangalore in August this year, that<br>
meeting was abruptly cancelled (or postponed indefinitely, or to an<br>
unannounced date¡ªwe can't be sure) without any reasons having been<br>
assigned by the Patent Office. This signals either of two unpleasant<br>
scenarios: first, the Patent Office is proceeding with its consultations<br>
in an extremely mechanical fashion, not intending inputs received in the<br>
course of these consultations to qualitatively impact their functioning<br>
in any way; or secondly, perhaps the Patent Office underestimates the<br>
amount that citizens living in the IT capital of India might have to say<br>
on the subject of software patents.<br>
<br>
It is our attempt in this public hearing to organize the kind of<br>
consultation that the Indian Patent Office ought to have conducted. We<br>
hope also hereby, to serve as a gentle but firm reminder to the Patent<br>
Office that its task is as yet undone.<br>
<br>
==Agenda==<br>
<br>
1000¨C1100<br>
Presentation on the principles of patent law and<br>
software patents<br>
<br>
Sudhir Krishnaswamy<br>
(National Law School)<br>
<br>
Prabir Purkayastha<br>
(Delhi Science Forum)<br>
<br>
Nagarjuna G.<br>
(Free Software Foundation of India)<br>
<br>
1100¨C1130<br>
Discussion on software patents in the Indian context:<br>
Indian Patent Act, and the draft patent manual<br>
<br>
Prashant Iyengar<br>
(Alternative Law Forum)<br>
<br>
Venkatesh Hariharan<br>
(Red Hat)<br>
<br>
1130¨C1150<br>
Tea break<br>
<br>
1150¨C1240<br>
Discussion on patents and the development sector<br>
(freedom of speech, open standards, healthcare, biotech, agro-sector,<br>
etc.)<br>
<br>
Sunil Abraham<br>
(Centre for Internet and Society)<br>
<br>
Anivar Aravind<br>
(Movingrepublic, FSUG-Bangalore)<br>
<br>
Others<br>
<br>
1240¨C1300<br>
Presentation on the software patents that have been<br>
granted so far in India<br>
<br>
Pranesh Prakash<br>
(Centre for Internet and Society)<br>
<br>
1300¨C1400<br>
Lunch break<br>
<br>
1400¨C1700<br>
Open House<br>
<br>
T. Ramakrishna<br>
(National Law School)<br>
<br>
Abhas Abhinav<br>
(DeepRoot Linux)<br>
<br>
Joseph Mathew<br>
(Special It advisor, Govt of Kerala)<br>
<br>
Sreekanth S. Rameshaiah<br>
(Mahiti Infotech)<br>
<br>
Vinay Sreenivasa<br>
(IT for Change)<br>
<br>
Any others who wish to speak<br>
<br>
<br>
==Organizers==<br>
<br>
Centre for Internet and Society; Free Software Users Group-Bangalore;<br>
Free Software Foundation of India; SPACE; IT for Change; Alternative<br>
Law Forum; Delhi Science Forum; Movingrepublic; Sarai/CSDS; OpenSpace,<br>
; Swathanthra Malayalam Computing; Servelots - Janastu; Mahiti; DeepRoot<br>
Linux; Wiki Ocean; Turtle Linux Lab; Zyxware Technologies; INSAF; Aneka<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Anivar Aravind<br>
+91 9449009908<br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
--<br>
Any responsible politician should be encouraging a home grown Free<br>
Software industry because it creates the basis for future jobs.<br>
Learning Windows is like learning to eat every meal at McDonalds.<br>
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