[pp.int.general] The real ‘party with a difference’

[Pratik Kanjilal]

Dear Nicolas, glad you liked that column. IPRs are a very live issue in
India, though the focus is on genome and pharma patents rather than digital
rights. The former affect the poor directly, while the effects of the latter
are felt at one remove. But of course they're ruled by the same patents
regime which, we feel, must be rationalised.

Here, I don't think anyone wants to see the patents regime dismantled
altogether, for that would disincentivise creativity. But we'd like
protection periods to be reduced, especially for life-saving drugs, to see
communities being credited for originating public domain knowledge (like
herbal medicine) and reasonable pricing that fits local markets. The last
would benefit everyone, including corporates. It could even end piracy, you
know!

I'm glad to see that your movement has taken the fight for the global
commons beyond national borders. Hope to see Pirate Party chapters in Asia
sooner rather than later. All the best for the future.

Pratik
-- 
Publisher
The Little Magazine
New Delhi
www.littlemag.com


On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 7:49 PM, Nicolas Sahlqvist <nicco77 at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hi Pratik,
>
> I am one of those members who made it possible for the Swedish PirateParty
> to get into EU and I really appreciate the sharpness of your pen in
> describing the issues of the party, in particular your extension of the word
> copyright and how it effects us:
>
> "The IPR regime, designed to reward creativity, now stifles human growth by
> reducing public access to its fruits."
>
> http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=5c518589-abf5-4590-9377-dbf35e03becb
>
> This is something that is usually forgotten in European and Swedish
> mainstream news where we are presented as a party that are for kids that do
> not want to do the right thing and pay for the content. Until recently it
> was legal to share media content for private and then they decided to change
> the game due to pressure from the IPR regime. This would however not have
> made me vote for them as mainstream news seem to think, it is the principles
> of shared culture, free knowledge and protected private life that made me
> vote for the Pirate Party in Swedein already in 2006 and I will continue to
> do so until the other parties realize the importance of these principles.
> Please feel free to study our principles more in depth:
>
> http://www.piratpartiet.se/international/english
>
>
> - Nicolas
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