Intellectual Property
What is IP?
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) defines
Intellectual Property as "creations of the mind." This means everything from
scientific discoveries to songs. By referring to these things as property
organisations such as WIPO seek to give them the same status as physical
properties such as land or tools.
Most governments agree with this, so it is possible to own and trade in
intellectual property in most countries, much as you would with physical
property.
However, there are some obvious differences between intellectual and physical
property which have resulted in confusion and rebellion.
A resource that never runs out
When you create a piece of physical property you can hold it in your hand. Give
it away or sell it, and you no longer hold it. Intellectual property on the
other hand remains with you when you pass it to others. For many this undermines
its status as property. Unlike physical property, intellectual property
increases in value when you share it with others. As the adage goes "Give a man
a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to catch fish and he will never
go hungry." He may also teach others so they no longer go hungry either.
On the internet the frailty of intellectual property has been most apparent in
the sharing of music. Music can be shared easily with countless other people
using the internet. This has angered many people who make their living through
selling music – it undermines the way they make their living. Music sharers
argue that most of these people do not create music. They just trade in the CDs
by which other people can listen to it. The internet cuts out these middle-men.
Musicians are still free to make money in other ways, such as playing live to a
paying audience. After all, before the development of CDs, records or tapes
there were musicians making a living through performance.
Another area of controversy around IP is in the scientific community. Science is
founded on the sharing of intellectual property. Isaac Newton said that his
discoveries where made by "standing on the shoulders of giants," referring to
scientists before him. From the viewpoint made possible by their discoveries he
could see further and make his own.
Today, in order to make a living, many scientists work directly or indirectly
for businesses that obtain ownership of new discoveries. Businesses seek to use
these discoveries to gain advantages over their competitors. This would be
thwarted by scientists working for different companies and sharing their ideas.
In order to be paid many scientists have to prevent others from standing on
their shoulders and seeing further.
In both cases we have a tension between advantages for everyone, and advantages
for a few. Some would make the argument that without benefits for the few there
is no incentive for scientists or musicians to innovate. Others say that the
middle-men are no longer necessary in a world where communication is so fast,
cheap and easy.
How could this possibly affect Tanzanians?
What on earth is the effect of this on people living in communities with limited
access to modern communication techniques? Why should Tanzanians take an
interest in IP?
Protecting local IP
Intellectual property is not just the realm of big businesses. Every single
person on the planet has the right to benefit from their intellectual property.
The problem is that many small scale societies do not place a monetary value on
their knowledge. Farming or medical techniques passed down for millennia amongst
groups such as the Maasai and Chagga are intellectual property. However, who
would be so bold to claim they are theirs?
Intellectual property can be something of a land grab – the first to stake claim
to a piece of IP becomes the owner. For people in smaller communities this may
be hard to achieve, and there is the risk of those better read in the legalities
of the system acquiring IP that is not the result of their, or their ancestors
hard work.
Farming and IP
The people that may be the first to seriously meet the sharp edge of IP laws may
be farmers. The genes of plants can be discovered and therefore become
intellectual property. New strains of crops can be claimed as IP. In 1997,
RiceTec, a multinational company claimed a patent on basmati rice to worldwide
horror. The crop had been grown in India for thousands of years, yet here a
relatively young company was seeking to control who could trade in this staple
crop!
The use of more legitimate IP can also lead to controversy. Recently a Canadian
farmer was sued by the multinational seed company Monsanto for keeping seeds
from the previous year's crops and planting them, in contravention of the
license. Comically, the farmer had never signed a license, and claimed that his
field had been contaminated by seeds blown in from a neighbouring farm.
As you can see, the world of intellectual property can intrude into the more
physical world. It is likely to do so more and more all over the world. It is
something even Tanzanians will need to understand.
Interesting links
www.wipo.org – World Intellectual
Property Organisation
www.crisinfo.org – Campaign for the
right to communicate
www.zeropaid.com – the latest news
on music and other types of file sharing
www.scidev.net/indigenous/protecting/ - protecting indigenous
knowledge
www.primalseeds.org – protecting
biodiversity and local food security
duncandrury@yahoo.co.uk |
www.dunxd.com
|
