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Tue Mar 15 17:42:23 UTC 2011
changing the legislators' mind about this are slim, because there are
international commitments involved. And yet, two things should be sought and
demanded: (1) that the change will not be retrospective; (2) that it would
not affect state-owned copyrights
In Israel, after our appeal, the Ministry of Justice agreed to introduce a
paragraph saying that the change was not retrospective (namely, the old
statute applies for pictures taken before the enactment of the new
legislation). The Ministry explained that the history of Zionism and
Israel's struggle for independence (including the first decades of the state
that saw major events and changes in the landscape and population of the
country) requires that photographs from that time be released to the public
domain as planned. The legislators approved that.
Since India's struggle for independence happened during the same years, this
argument can be used in the Indian case too. The Ministry also suggested a
slight reduction in the copyright period of state-owned works. Since there
are many state-employed photographers, doing various tasks of documentation,
this amendment was important, though we still struggle to make state-owned
works fully free, like in the US. The fact that the UK changed its policy
regarding state-owned copyright is helpful, because the Indian legal system
(like the Israeli) was inherited from the British colonial regime, hence
every legal solution used in the UK is probably feasible in India as well.
I hope this helps. Best of luck!
Dror K
On Sun, Jun 19, 2011 at 9:37 PM, Gautam John <gautam at prathambooks.org>wrote:
> On 19 June 2011 21:57, Pranesh Prakash <pranesh at cis-india.org> wrote:
>
> > If one of you could help me draft the letter (I'm looking at you,
> > Gautam), that would be appreciated.
>
> For sure. Will work on this offline and post it here for further action.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Best,
>
> Gautam
> ________
> http://social.prathambooks.org/
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wikimediaindia-l mailing list
> Wikimediaindia-l at lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
>
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Asaf Bartov
Wikimedia Foundation
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In the meantime, here is some more food for thought: I have asked my former=
colleague in Wikimedia Israel, Dror K (CCed above), to share his experienc=
e with attempting to block similar legislation in Israel in 2007, and how h=
e ended up helping to mitigate it.<div>
<br></div><div>I bring his account verbatim below. =A0Hope this helps,</div=
><div><br></div><div>=A0 =A0 Asaf Bartov</div><div>=A0 =A0 Wikimedia Founda=
tion</div><div>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D</div>
<div><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: collapse; f=
ont-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><p style=3D"margin-bottom=
: 1cm; margin-top: 0pt; direction: ltr; ">I am writing this in English, so =
you could forward it to our colleagues and friends in India.</p>
<p style=3D"margin-bottom: 1cm; margin-top: 0pt; direction: ltr; ">The prob=
lem is not simple at all, because it involves international commitments and=
pressure. The international copyright treaty, known today as WIPO Treaty a=
nd replacing the former Bern Treaty, demands that parties to the treaty wil=
l abolish the distinction between photographs and other creative works. See=
here:=A0<a href=3D"http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/wct/trtdocs_wo033.ht=
ml#P81_10697" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 204); ">http://ww=
w.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/wct/trtdocs_wo033.html#P81_10697</a>=A0(Article 9=
). The former Bern Treaty allowed each country to decide whether it wants t=
o have a special copyright period for photographs, and set a minimum of 25 =
years. India, like most countries, decided to make this distinction and opt=
ed for the minimal requirement of the Bern Treaty. It has all changed sever=
al years ago, when the WIPO Treaty canceled this paragraph of the Bern Trea=
ty.</p>
<p style=3D"margin-bottom: 1cm; margin-top: 0pt; direction: ltr; ">From my =
experience with handling this issue in Israel - the chances of changing the=
legislators' mind about this are slim, because there are international=
commitments involved. And yet, two things should be sought and demanded: (=
1) that the change will not be retrospective; (2) that it would not affect =
state-owned copyrights</p>
<p style=3D"margin-bottom: 1cm; margin-top: 0pt; direction: ltr; ">In Israe=
l, after our appeal, the Ministry of Justice agreed to introduce a paragrap=
h saying that the change was not retrospective (namely, the old statute app=
lies for pictures taken before the enactment of the new legislation). The M=
inistry explained that the history of Zionism and Israel's struggle for=
independence (including the first decades of the state that saw major even=
ts and changes in the landscape and population of the country) requires tha=
t photographs from that time be released to the public domain as planned. T=
he legislators approved that.=A0</p>
<p style=3D"margin-bottom: 1cm; margin-top: 0pt; direction: ltr; ">Since In=
dia's struggle for independence happened during the same years, this ar=
gument can be used in the Indian case too. The Ministry also suggested a sl=
ight reduction in the copyright period of state-owned works. Since there ar=
e many state-employed photographers, doing various tasks of documentation, =
this amendment was important, though we still struggle to make state-owned =
works fully free, like in the US. The fact that the UK changed its policy r=
egarding state-owned copyright is helpful, because the Indian legal system =
(like the Israeli) was inherited from the British colonial regime, hence ev=
ery legal solution used in the UK is probably feasible in India as well.</p=
>
<p style=3D"margin-bottom: 1cm; margin-top: 0pt; direction: ltr; ">I hope t=
his helps. Best of luck!</p><p style=3D"margin-bottom: 1cm; margin-top: 0pt=
; direction: ltr; ">Dror K</p></span><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Sun, Jun=
19, 2011 at 9:37 PM, Gautam John <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:g=
autam at prathambooks.org">gautam at prathambooks.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div class=3D"im">On 19 June 2011 21:57, Pr=
anesh Prakash <<a href=3D"mailto:pranesh at cis-india.org">pranesh at cis-indi=
a.org</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
> If one of you could help me draft the letter (I'm looking at you,<=
br>
> Gautam), that would be appreciated.<br>
<br>
</div>For sure. Will work on this offline and post it here for further acti=
on.<br>
<div class=3D"im"><br>
Thank you.<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
<br>
Gautam<br>
________<br>
<a href=3D"http://social.prathambooks.org/" target=3D"_blank">http://social=
.prathambooks.org/</a><br>
<br>
</div><div><div></div><div class=3D"h5">___________________________________=
____________<br>
Wikimediaindia-l mailing list<br>
<a href=3D"mailto:Wikimediaindia-l at lists.wikimedia.org">Wikimediaindia-l at li=
sts.wikimedia.org</a><br>
<a href=3D"https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l" t=
arget=3D"_blank">https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindi=
a-l</a><br>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear=3D"all"><br>-- <br>=A0=A0=A0 A=
saf Bartov<br>=A0=A0=A0 Wikimedia Foundation<br><br>
</div>
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