Asia-Commons – Copylefts Rising!

Well, I am posting after quite some time, due to the fact I was busy with some other issues related to my advocacy efforts regarding ICTs and FOSS. I am making this post right from the Asia-Commons: Asian Conference on the Digital Commons being held in Bangkok, Thailand from June 6 – 8, 2006. The Asia-Commons has been organized by Bellanet, South Asia Partnership-Nepal, IDRC-Canada, CSDMS-India, UNDP-APDIP IOSN International Open Source Network, Asia Institute of Technology and TRN. You can actually get the complete updates and read the proceedings including papers, wikis, chat transcripts online at the conference website at http://www.asia-commons.net.

My presentation was during the first day of the conference related to "Patents and Innovation" details on the discussion based upon absolute statements from the organizers is available online on the website address given above.

Happy reading and do comment on the commons.

BBC’s documentary… and software freedom

 

BBC’s documentary… and software freedom By Fouad Riaz Bajwa writing from PAKISTAN • Is Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS) a make-do product for those who can’t afford better? Is it something suited for the ‘developing’ world alone? No, says Fouad Riaz Bajwa, a Pakistani FOSS advocate known as the “FOSS mullah” for his passionate commitment to the cause. He debates a recent two-part BBC documentary on FOSS, which he believes catches the bull by the tail. (Special thanks to Frederick [FN] Noronha for this bit!)

Ouch!
It has only been a few minutes since the telecase of the second and last episode of the BBC produced documentary titled “Code Breakers” on BBC World. The documentary attempts to

Software Piracy in Pakistan – Building a case for ICT Software Freedom

At this point in time amidst the harsh implications that Pakistani citizens will shortly be facing after 20th May 2006 when the Anti-Software piracy crackdown is enforced by Business Software Alliance BSA (Mild least) in cooperation with the Intellectual Property Organization and Federal Investigation Authorities of Pakistan, this article is an effort to mobilize regional and international community support through media and the FOSS advocates for FOSSFP so that FOSSFP may continue to massively educate and protect the citizens of Pakistan from the implications of Software Piracy by educating them on Free and Open Source Software as an alternative to pirated software.

1) What are the copyright act amendments, addition of Software?
The government has rewritten and amended legislation in the areas of copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Copyright law in Pakistan was governed by the Copyright Ordinance 1962. Significant changes were made in it through

The Code Breakers by IOSN – Building a case for ICT Software Freedom

 

I can still recall the first day at the Kram Expo Centre in Tunis last year during the World Summit on the Information Society 2006 as I was making preparations for exhibiting FOSSFP projects in the space allotted to me by UNDP when I was overwhelmed to see Sunil Abraham, Program Manager of the International Open Source Network in action as usual but this time he wasn’t alone like the last time he dropped in at the FOSSFP National Free and Open Source Software Awareness Campaign in Pakistan. He was leading a team of documentary camera men! I knew the very instant that our Open Source dude was up to something, and yes, he was covering FOSS related activities and interviewing

In search of Public Truth online! – Building a case for ICT Software Freedom

As the Shuttleworth Foundation’s Go-Opensource Episode 2 Video states that blogging is not dark and smelly, it’s fresh and new and it’s incredible and magnificent. It’s on the internet and has got journalists in a frill. Usually people are used to getting news through newspapers, magazines, television or radio broadcasts, and news publisher websites. Behind the scenes, international journalists and editors are preparing news and links for syndication of news stories and those stories go through a process of editing and vetting before they appear on printed page or other forms of mass media. But amidst this process, a relatively new phenomenon has introduced the

Software Piracy in Pakistan – Building a case for ICT Software Freedom

 

At this point in time amidst the harsh implications that Pakistani citizens will shortly be facing after 20th May 2006 when the Anti-Software piracy crackdown is enforced by Business Software Alliance BSA (Middleeast) in cooperation with the Intellectual Property Organization and Federal Investigation Authorities of Pakistan, this article is an effort to mobilize regional and international community support through media and the FOSS advocates for FOSSFP so that FOSSFP may continue to massively educate and protect the citizens of Pakistan from

Crackdown against Software Piracy in Pakistan

Guess what, I was the first to know that the Government of Pakistan and Business Software Alliance were planning a massive crack down on software pirates and pirated software users. I was sitting in the Passenger Lounge of Lahore International Airport for my journey to Bangladesh in order to attend the APC Asia ICT Policy Meeting organized by Bytes For All and BFES. Getting bored, I just flipped my headphones and connected FM-100 on my mobile phone when I heard the words, we are going to crackdown on Software Piracy!!!! Thats where I quietly sat and heard the whole story and sent