Running After a Moving Train
I'm drowning in IPR regimes, debates, concepts, epistemologies, theories, philiosophies. Two days ago, I was basking in all of that. Today, I'm drowning. And daunted.
The first half of the conference was spent with resource speakers and panels discussing different dimensions of IPR and the so-called 'commons' -- from the political theories behind "property" frameworks, to open business models that are based on a 'commons' approach rather than a proprietary / private one. There was an interesting presentation comparing modern notions of "piracy" to how colonisers branded "pirates" based on what colonial rule deemed legal and illegal territories and acts within such territorities. A cordoning off of space based on what colonisers saw as "theirs" -- much like how IPR policies are currently marking information based on who it belongs to.
I'm in. I'm convinced. Dominant definitions of "intellectual property rights" is evil and artificial and just so wrong. It didn't really take a lot of convince me because I do have visceral issues with ownership -- of things, of people, of spaces. I generally believe that "ownership" and "property" are articifial and temporary labels we place on things / people / spaces to segregate what's mine and yours, but really, no one, nothing, no place belongs to anyone. We all die and the things / people / spaces we own our not ours in the afterlife -- not unless you're an Egyptian Pharoah who gets buried together with all his wives and gold.
But I'm digressing. My point was that I buy the whole idea of doing away with (or substantively lessening) IPR policies that threaten to label everything as belonging to someone or some corporation / government / estate. Topple the current IPR Regime! And topple it now!
But aside from going off to Panthip Plaza to buy "pirated" dvds, what else can we do? Countries, mostly developing ones, are tied up (or will be tied up) in anti-piracy agreements and policies that are (apparently) necessary to continue to participate in the global (*cough*US*cough*) economy -- and all the anti-WIPO / GATT / FTA / WTO protests are achieving what exactly? Forgive my broken and cynical activist heart, but right now, every street protest feels old and ineffective. I might be wrong. I hope I'm wrong.
It's like we're trying to run after a train that's been travelling for quite some time now, and has therefore gained its steady and optimum velocity and momentum. How are we ever going to catch up? Just thinking about it makes me so tired, I just want to bury under the covers and sleep forever.
The first half of the conference was spent with resource speakers and panels discussing different dimensions of IPR and the so-called 'commons' -- from the political theories behind "property" frameworks, to open business models that are based on a 'commons' approach rather than a proprietary / private one. There was an interesting presentation comparing modern notions of "piracy" to how colonisers branded "pirates" based on what colonial rule deemed legal and illegal territories and acts within such territorities. A cordoning off of space based on what colonisers saw as "theirs" -- much like how IPR policies are currently marking information based on who it belongs to.
I'm in. I'm convinced. Dominant definitions of "intellectual property rights" is evil and artificial and just so wrong. It didn't really take a lot of convince me because I do have visceral issues with ownership -- of things, of people, of spaces. I generally believe that "ownership" and "property" are articifial and temporary labels we place on things / people / spaces to segregate what's mine and yours, but really, no one, nothing, no place belongs to anyone. We all die and the things / people / spaces we own our not ours in the afterlife -- not unless you're an Egyptian Pharoah who gets buried together with all his wives and gold.
But I'm digressing. My point was that I buy the whole idea of doing away with (or substantively lessening) IPR policies that threaten to label everything as belonging to someone or some corporation / government / estate. Topple the current IPR Regime! And topple it now!
But aside from going off to Panthip Plaza to buy "pirated" dvds, what else can we do? Countries, mostly developing ones, are tied up (or will be tied up) in anti-piracy agreements and policies that are (apparently) necessary to continue to participate in the global (*cough*US*cough*) economy -- and all the anti-WIPO / GATT / FTA / WTO protests are achieving what exactly? Forgive my broken and cynical activist heart, but right now, every street protest feels old and ineffective. I might be wrong. I hope I'm wrong.
It's like we're trying to run after a train that's been travelling for quite some time now, and has therefore gained its steady and optimum velocity and momentum. How are we ever going to catch up? Just thinking about it makes me so tired, I just want to bury under the covers and sleep forever.