TOPIC: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THE ERA OF DIGITAL REVOLUTION BY SAUDIN MWAKAJE PARTNER/ADVOCATE NEXLAW ADVOCATES 9/5/2015

TOPIC:

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THE ERA OF DIGITAL REVOLUTION

BYSAUDIN MWAKAJEPARTNER/ADVOCATE

NEXLAW ADVOCATESwww.nexlawadvocates.com

04/21/23Saudin J.Mwakaje- NexLaw Advocates1

IT & COMMUNICATION SUMMIT

Break-Down of the Presentation


An Overview of IPRIPR and Access to InformationImpact of Digitization of Information to IPRConsideration of Some Pertinent IssuesConclusionRecommendations

An Overview of IPR System


Intellectual Property:- A field of practice that recognizes and protects

human creations that are a result of application of human intellect.

- It captures all field of endeavor that one may imagine. (science, engineering, arts & culture, sports and entertainments, education, trade etc)

An Overview of IPR System


Branches of Intellectual Property:1. Copyright2. Industrial Property

- Patents- Trademarks- Industrial Design- integrated circuits- geographical indications- trade secrets-

IPR and Access to Information


The Crux of IPR system:At the heart of the effective IPR system is

the ability to keep and maintain control of the proprietary information.

The right to give access to some, and the right to deny access to others.

In the absence of such restriction to access, information will be of no value and hence the entire IPR system will be a mere sham.

Impact of Digitization of Information to IPR Enforcement


Important notes: A revolution in Information Technology has

changed the manner in which information is accessed in fundamental ways.

Increasing amounts of information are available in digital form; networks interconnect computers around the globe; and the World Wide Web provides a framework for access to a vast array of information.



Three technological changes, in particular: the increased use of information in digital form, The rapid growth of computer networks, and the creation of the World Wide Web—All these have fundamentally altered the landscape

and lie at the heart of many of the issues presented by the evolving information infrastructure.

- These changes, coupled with the emergence of the information infrastructure as a part of daily life, present significant legal, social, economic, and policy challenges.



Important Notes:The same technologies that provide vastly enhanced

access to information also raise difficult fundamental issues concerning intellectual property, because the technology that makes access so easy also greatly aids copying—both legal and illegal.

As a result, Digitization of Information has crippled IPR Enforcement in so many ways.

Many of the intellectual property rules and practices that evolved in the world of physical artifacts do not work well in the digital environment.



To illustrate:In a world of physical artifacts -A printed book can be

accessed by one or perhaps two people at once, people who must, of course, be in the same geographical place as the book.

But make that same text available in electronic form, and there is almost no technological limit to the number of people who can access it simultaneously, from literally anywhere on the planet where there is an Internet connection.

The same can be said of the patent information.



Consider the Patent Information Scenario:By its nature, patent information is publicThe patent owner reserves the right to prohibit

use of the patented invention but not access to it.The context in which such principles were

developed was during the pre-internet era – such access therefore required physical visitation to the patent offices – which is no longer the case now.

Consideration of Some Pertinent Issues


ISSUE 1: Advances in technology have produced radical shifts in the ability to reproduce, distribute, control, and publish information.

Information in digital form has radically changed the economics and ease of reproduction.

Reproduction costs are much lower for both rights holders (content owners) and infringers alike.

Digital copies are also perfect replicas, each a seed for further perfect copies.



What is the Consequence??One consequence is an erosion of what were

once the natural barriers to infringement, such as the expense of reproduction and the decreasing quality of successive generations of copies in analog media.

The average computer owner today can easily do the kind and the extent of copying that would have required a significant investment and perhaps criminal intent only a few years ago.



Computer networks have radically changed the economics of distribution. With transmission speeds approaching a billion characters per second, networks enable sending information products worldwide, cheaply and almost instantaneously.

As a consequence, it is easier and less expensive both for a rights holder to distribute a work and for individuals or pirates to make and distribute unauthorized copies.



The World Wide Web has radically changed the economics of publication, allowing everyone to be a publisher with worldwide reach.

The astonishing variety of documents, opinions, articles, and works of all sorts on the Web demonstrate that millions of people worldwide are making use of that capability.



Issue 2: With its commercialization and integration into everyday life, the information infrastructure has run headlong into intellectual property law.

Today some actions that can be taken casually by the average citizen—downloading files, forwarding information found on the Web—can at times be blatant violations of intellectual property laws.

Individuals in their daily lives have the capability and the opportunity to access and copy vast amounts of digital information, yet lack a clear picture of what is acceptable or legal.

Nor is it easy to supply a clear, “bright-line” answer, because (among other things) current intellectual property law is complex.



Content Liberated from Medium. Information in digital form is largely

liberated from the medium that carries it. When information is sent across networks,

there is no need to ship a physical substrate; the information alone flows to the recipient.

Conclusion


Conclusion 1: A widespread (and incorrect) belief prevails in society that private use copying is always or almost always lawful.

This viewpoint is difficult to support on either legal or ethical grounds. It is important to find ways to convince the public to consider thoughtfully the legality, ethics, and economic implications of their acts of private copying.

Conclusion


Conclusion 2: Fair use and other exceptions to copyright law derive from the fundamental purpose of copyright law and the concomitant balancing of competing interests among stakeholder groups.

Although the evolution of the information infrastructure changes the processes by which fair use and other exceptions to copyright are achieved, it does not challenge the underlying public policy motivations..

Conclusion


Conclusion 3: Providing additional statutory limitations on copyright and/or additional statutory protection may be necessary over time to adapt copyright appropriately to the digital environment.

The fair use doctrine may also prove useful as a flexible mechanism for adapting copyright to the digital environment.

Conclusion


Conclusion 4: Technical protection mechanisms are useful but are not a panacea.

Whatever the mechanism used, it is important to keep in mind that no protection mechanism is perfect.

As with any security system, defeating it is a matter of time, effort, and ingenuity. Yet, as with any security system, perfection is not required for real-world utility:

Conclusion


Conclusion 5: There is great diversity in the kinds of digital intellectual property, business models, legal mechanisms, and technical protection services possible, making a “one-size-fits-all” solution too rigid.

Recommendations


It is important to find ways to convince the public to consider thoughtfully the legality, ethics, and economic implications of their acts of private copying.

Fair use and other exceptions to copyright law should continue to play a role in the digital environment.

Legislators should not contemplate an overhaul of intellectual property laws and public policy at this time, to permit the evolutionary process the time to play out.

The Use of Technical Legal Advice

Documents

TOPIC: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THE ERA OF DIGITAL REVOLUTION BY SAUDIN MWAKAJE PARTNER/ADVOCATE NEXLAW ADVOCATES 9/5/2015