[Solar-general] Fwd: Julian Assange: his contributions to the debate on intellectual property

Mie Ago 15 00:59:20 CEST 2012

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Por la Cultura
Date: 2012/8/14
Subject: Julian Assange: his contributions to the debate on intellectual
property
**
  Julian Assange: his contributions to the debate on intellectual
property  Julian
Assange.Photo:Archive   Lillian Álvarez
------------------------------
  Revelations made by Wikileaks ratify what has been long been an open
secret. The US -and transnational corporations that make up the real
imperial power- are most interested in promoting legislation and
intellectual property agreements increasingly stronger and are willing to
demand, using all means at their disposal, that the rest of the world does
the same.

 Perhaps some people still don’t not understand the reason behind this
interest, since intellectual property regulations are aimed at protecting
and encouraging the creation and development of the arts, literature and
the scientific field, something apparently so little akin to the
militaristic and colonial desires and the desires of plundering with which
we have identified the US foreign policy for over two centuries now.

 It would be necessary to review some information to understand it fully.
Incomes related to copyright (only one \"branch\" of the so-called
intellectual property) in the US were in 2006 about 1.38 trillion dollars
(1) a year. Let’s just think about the software and the power and presence
of Microsoft or Apple products, or about the lucrative video game industry
or the audiovisual industry with Hollywood and its giant studios, or the
music industry, including the advertising industry worth millions, the
design industry, and others. With regard to other intellectual property
rights, the owners of very famous and expensive brands and more widespread
and questionable patents (2) come from this country, whether pharmaceutical
patents (Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer), technological (Apple, IBM, Google,
Hewlett-Packard, etc.) or of biotechnology, such as the sadly famous
Monsanto transnational company.

 These corporations, the owners of these rights, need to ensure that on the
markets where their products, patents or trademarks are present (and indeed
they are, thanks to globalization, in all parts of the world) there is a
“favorable” environment for their protection, so no possible profit
generated from the most remote countries could be diverted.

 The authors of the Copy South Dossier
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.porlacultura.cult.cu/descargas.php%5C%22>(an
excellent analysis about the impact of IP laws on developing countries)
concretely wonder why countries of the South need to learn about the
intellectual property policies \"cooked\" in developed nations:

 While countries in the North, particularly the United States, have moved
from a manufacturing base to one of services, and hence to a knowledge base
for their economies, the creation of new sources of income has become
crucial. Governments can better protect these new income flows if the
technologies and the content that are the basis of knowledge –such as
licensed software or entertainment products- are more ruthlessly protected

with a comprehensive intellectual property regime

applied globally; in fact such protection helps the

copyright industries of the North to obtain higher monopolistic profits.(3)

 The U.S. government itself has expressly said: intellectual property is a
strategic issue in its foreign policy and will be defended, in the words of
Obama himself, \"aggressively\".

 While reviewing a good few number of cables leaked by Wikileaks on
intellectual property issues coming from US embassies in various parts of
the world, the way in which this country works to achieve its objectives
becomes evident.

 1.Firstly, it can be asserted that the US embassies carry out systematic
monitoring of the state of intellectual property laws, their implementation
and application in each country, including the position of officials and
politicians who can influence local decisions in this matter.

 Examples:Italia02ROME1072<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=02ROME1072%5C%22>
,Venezuela
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/10CARACAS169.html>10CARACAS169,Jamaica
10KINGSTON176
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10KINGSTON176.html>,Francia
09PARIS1560
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/11/09PARIS1560.html>,Vietnam
03HANOI1559
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2003/06/03HANOI1559.html>,
México 07MEXICO6229
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2007/12/07MEXICO6229.html>,Bulgaria:
06SOFIA983
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://leaks.hohesc.us/?view=06SOFIA983>
,Japón09TOKYO482
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=09TOKYO482>,
06TOKYO3567 <http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22>

 2. The US embassies exert direct pressure on officials who can influence
this matter in order to achieve cooperation agreements and commitments with
respect to legislative changes and state actions against intellectual
property law offenders.

 Examples:Brunei10BANDARSERIBEGAWAN18
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://cables.mrkva.eu/cable.php?id=245685>,Sri
Lanka 03COLOMBO1386
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://cablegate.1wise.es/cable/2003/08/03COLOMBO1386.html>,Salvador
10SANSALVADOR252
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10SANSALVADOR252.html>,Honduras
02TEGUCIGALPA2548 <http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22>

 3.These actions have increased in European countries in order for national
legislative changes to be adopted, aimed primarily at stemming the
so-called Internet piracy, the most notorious examples of which have been
direct actions for the approval of the so-called Sinde Law in Spain,04MADRID736
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22>, 07MADRID2305
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://spanishwikileaks.wordpress.com/2010/12/13/cable-embajada-madrid-07madrid2305-id-135868/>
,10MADRID174
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://spanishwikileaks.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/embajada-madrid-10madrid174/>
,08MADRID843
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wiki.hacktivistas.net/index.php?title=08MADRID843>,
entre otros, y la Ley Hadopi en Francia 09PARIS559
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/04/09PARIS559.html>,
among others.

 4.US Embassies contact the private sector and their associations to
encourage them to pressure their governments and try to accelerate the
legislative changes and undertake the desired actions.

 Example:Nicaragua
09MANAGUA939<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/09/09MANAGUA939.html%5C%22>

,Bulgaria09SOFIA603
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/10/09SOFIA603.html>
,Rusia07MOSCOW5352<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=07MOSCOW5352%5C%22>

 5.Organizations like the Department of Commerce -primarily through the
Commercial Law Development Program-, the Patent & Trademark Office (USTPO),
and the Supreme Court, directly execute, with the support of the US
embassies, training actions in many countries, directed to officials,
judges, district attorneys, police, customs personnel, students and others
to familiarize them and train them in the fight against intellectual
property infringement.

  Examples: Nigeria 01ABUJA2017
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2001/08/01ABUJA2017.html>,Honduras
02TEGUCIGALPA2548
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2002/09/02TEGUCIGALPA2548.html>,Estonia
10TALLINN28
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/01/10TALLINN28.html>,
Jamaica 10KINGSTON176
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10KINGSTON176.html>,
China 9GUANGZHOU619
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=09GUANGZHOU619>,México
07MEXICO6229
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2007/12/07MEXICO6229.html>
,Bulgaria09SOFIA603
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.look4leaks.net/wikileaks.php?lang=es&op=s&id=08SOFIA534&title=08SOFIA534&ref=Sim>.

 6. The USAID,sadly known for its support for subversive activities
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://lapupilainsomne.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/usaid-150-millones-para-acciones-en-cuba-desde-1990/>and
activities of interference in many countries,advises and financially
supports these actions of \"training and technical assistance.\"

 Examples: Nigeria01ABUJA2017
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2001/08/01ABUJA2017.html>,
Honduras02TEGUCIGALPA2548
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2002/09/02TEGUCIGALPA2548.html>,Sri
Lanka 03COLOMBO1386<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://cablegate.1wise.es/cable/2003/08/03COLOMBO1386.html>

 7.The US, by way of its embassies, promote, check and press governments
for their commitment to intellectual property agreements with high
standards of protection, such as those of the WTO and WIPO or others with
higher standards, like the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA) and
other bilateral and multilateral trade accords.

 Examples: Jamaica10KINGSTON176<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10KINGSTON176.html#>,
Suecia 09STOCKHOLM736
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://cablesearch.org/cable/view.php?id=09STOCKHOLM736&hl=%22Monique+Wadsted%22>,
Sri Lanka03COLOMBO1386 <http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22>,Italia
08ROME1337<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2008/11/08ROME1337.html%5C%22>

 8.US Embassies assume the objectives of Microsoft and the Business
Software Alliance (BSA) as their own, and try to prevent the spread of free
software, open source and the adoption of open standards.

  Examples:Venezuela 09CARACAS1599
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22>,Tailandia
10CHIANGMAI18<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/10CHIANGMAI18.html>,
Brasil 07SAOPAULO1001
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/10CHIANGMAI18.html>

,México 07MEXICO6229<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2007/12/07MEXICO6229.html%5C%22>

  9.U.S. Embassies closely follow the action of the so-called Pirate
Parties opposing current intellectual property rules in anticipation of
their possible influence on society and government.

 Examples:Bulgaria 09SOFIA603
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/10/09SOFIA603.html>,Alemania
09BERLIN1188
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://cablesearch.org/cable/view.php?hl=%22pirate+party%22&id=09BERLIN1188>,Suecia
09STOCKHOLM355<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://cablesearch.org/cable/view.php?id=09STOCKHOLM355&hl%5C%22>

 10.Also monitored are the results of the administrative and police actions
and rulings by courts of law with respect to the resolution of conflicts
related to Intellectual Property:

 Examples: Saudi Arabia10RIYADH75
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/01/10RIYADH75.html%5C%22>y
09RIYADH1202
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.look4leaks.net/showCable.php?id=09RIYADH1202&title=Microsoft+and+Saudi+leaders+cite+progress+on+IPR&lang=es>
,Sweden09STOCKHOLM736
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://cablesearch.org/cable/view.php?id=09STOCKHOLM736&hl=%22Monique+Wadsted%22>,Salvador

10SANSALVADOR252 <http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22>, México 07MEXICO6229
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2007/12/07MEXICO6229.html#>,Bulgaria
06SOFIA983<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://leaks.hohesc.us/?view=06SOFIA983>

 11.U.S. business associations like the Business Software Alliance (BSA),
the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the International
Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) and companies such as Microsoft, take
part in the direct advising of governments, and their data and analyses are
used by the United States as sources of information to make recommendations
and put pressure on other countries.

 Examples:Spain09MADRID982<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://derechoaleer.org/wikileaks/cable/2009/10/09MADRID982.html%5C%22>
,10MADRID174 <http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22>,Sri Lanka03COLOMBO1386
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://cablegate.1wise.es/cable/2003/08/03COLOMBO1386.html%5C%22>,Saudi
Arabia:09RIYADH1202
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.look4leaks.net/showCable.php?id=09RIYADH1202&title=Microsoft+and+Saudi+leaders+cite+progress+on+IPR&lang=es>
,Japan:09TOKYO482<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=09TOKYO482>

 12.The \"Special 301\" or \"Report 301\", annually issued by the US Trade
representative (USTR), classifies each country according to the state of
its intellectual property legislation and the application thereof. This
report is used as an instrument of blackmail to pressure governments.

 Examples: Saudi Arabia 09RIYADH1626
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.look4leaks.net/showCable.php?id=09RIYADH1626&title=SAUDI+REMOVAL+FROM+IPR+WATCH+LIST+DURING+OUT-OF-CYCLE+REVIEW+ESSENTIAL&lang=es>,
Jamaica: 10KINGSTON176
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10KINGSTON176.html%5C%22>
,Salvador:10SANSALVADOR252
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10SANSALVADOR252.html>,
Italy:08ROME1337
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2008/11/08ROME1337.html>
,Spain: 08MADRID724
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://wiki.hacktivistas.net/index.php?title=08MADRID724>,
Japan:09TOKYO482<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=09TOKYO482>

 As can be appreciated, monitoring and pressure on governments include
countries from all continents, from the most underdeveloped to European
countries and trading partners.

 But we should not think that all these actions are carried out covertly.
If we review the Web site of the Commercial Law Development Program (CLD) a
division of the US Commerce Department
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://cldp.doc.gov/category/areas-expertise/intellectual-property%5C%22>,
we see the large number of projects of \"assistance and training\" already
implemented, the themes of which are related to intellectual property
standards and primarily directed to the judicial sector and the sphere of
law observance. This program has the declared objective of “achieving the
U.S. foreign policy goals in developing countries and countries that
experienced conflicts and help them \"modernize\" the laws and regulations
that will lead them to “economic growth and opportunities for their
people.\"

 It is striking, for example, that from September 19th through the 22nd,
2011, the Commercial Law Development Program and the Iraqi Institute for
Judicial Development organized a workshop on observance of intellectual
property rights in Baghdad. The workshop focused on common disputes on
trade marks, copyrights, commercial secrets and other forms of intellectual
property. The needs met by this training in a devastated country, totally
plundered in terms of its cultural heritage and still occupied by foreign
troops, are clear.

 Taking only the information appearing on this Web site, we also knew that
between June, 2010, and September, 2011, in just 15 months, 24 training
activities related to intellectual property, including workshops, courses,
etc,. were carried out. The countries these actions were directed to were:
Iraq, Kirgizstan, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Mali, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, Georgia, Ghana, Senegal,
Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and Uganda.

 It is also curious to see not only the issues dealt with but also the
approaches of this training. Already in Geneva in 2005, in a document
presented at the WIPO by a group of countries to establish a \"Development
Agenda\"
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.wipo.int/meetings/es/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=42376>the
content and approaches of the technical assistance provided by that
organization to developing countries, among other things, were questioned.

 As its fundamental idea, the document argued that the promotion of
intellectual property in itself was not valid unless it was accompanied by
policies that would respond to the specific needs of each country.

At the same time, it questioned the upward harmonization of these
standards, that is, the intention to apply more rigorous protection
criteria in all countries, irrespective of their levels of development and
regardless of the economic and social costs this legislation could impose,
not only on poor countries but on all consumers of knowledge, cultural
content and technologies, in both the North and the South.

 \"Not only the interests of holders of intellectual property rights should
be considered and respected, but also those of society at large, and of the
particularly vulnerable population segments,\" expressed the document.

 These criticisms raised at the WIPO in 2005 can undoubtedly serve as a
reference at the time of interpreting \"disinterested\" cooperation on the
part not only of the US government but also of international organizations,
associations of professionals, universities, institutes, NGOs and others,
often free, lying like a hook to the mouth of a hungry fish.

 Let’s recall Professor Julio Fernandez Bulte, PhD and Professor Emeritus
of the University of Havana, when he said: \"I have always maintained that
the science (Law) is not innocent and is generated and reversed in a
historic environment in which it does good or evil. And good and evil have
different readings for the poor and the rich, the good of the First World
is often the evil of our peoples and the good of the latter is normally
seen as subversive attitude by politicians of the First World.\"(4)

 The \"gaps\" and \"weaknesses\" of our legal systems and institutions,
criticized by many organizations and international \"advisers\", are
precisely the areas on which we must advance autonomously, try new ideas
and relationships and build new structures, which could be more effective
or less effective in a short term, but that at least will be our fruits and
not yet another foundation to underpin an outdated order, which is, in
addition, demonstrably unfair.

 This was already known, but the persecuted Julian Assange helped us come
closer to the details, extent and nerve with which the masters of the world
move, even in these subjects. There are some cables available, and there
are more.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 (2)In 2008, the United States occupied first place on the list of
countries with valid patents, with a total of 1,872,872 patents registered.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Pa%C3%ADses_por_registro_de_patentes
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Pa%C3%ADses_por_registro_de_patentes>

 (3)The Copy/South Dossier: Economic, political and ideological problems of
copyright in the global South. The Copy/South Research Group, 2006. Edited
by Alan Story, Colin Darch and Debora
Halbert.http://www.porlacultura.org/descargas.php
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.porlacultura.org/descargas.php>o
http://www.copysouth.org/
<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.copysouth.org/%5C%22>

 (4)Julio Fernandez Bulte: Foreword to the book Derecho de ¿autor? El
debate de hoy, Lillian Alvarez, Ciencias Sociales Publishing House, Havana,
2006.http://www.porlacultura.org/pdf/ll0006.pdf<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.porlacultura.org/pdf/ll0006.pdf>

http://www.especieenpeligro.net/index.php/privatizacion-de-la-vida/1167-julian-assange-sus-aportes-al-debate-sobre-propiedad-intelectual<http://www.cubanow.net/pages/%5C%22http://www.especieenpeligro.net/index.php/privatizacion-de-la-vida/1167-julian-assange-sus-aportes-al-debate-sobre-propiedad-intelectual%5C%22>

   2012-07-18

-- 
Diego Saravia
Diego.Saravia en gmail.com
NO FUNCIONA->dsa en unsa.edu.ar
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