On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 1:07 PM, Vickram Crishna <[email protected]>wrote:
> > > On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 10:40 AM, Venkatesh Hariharan < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> I have trimmed this post for the sake of brevity. My reply below. >> >> >> On Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 7:44 PM, Vickram Crishna <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> >>> However, while opposing every dubious patent application is timely and >>> pragmatic, it seems to me a more practical approach is to build support for >>> an Amendment to the Act that will remove this lacuna once and for all. >>> >> >> When the next Amendment is proposed, we should vigorously push for the >> removal of the "per se" clause. However, the next Amendment may be a few >> years away. >> >> Venky, I was exceedingly pleased to read yesterday a lot of newsprint, > including an interview with you, in one of the print media (I think it was > Mid-Day Mumbai edition, but frankly I am just recovering from malaria, and > can't go find the actual paper). This is a refreshing change, highlighting > as it does what FOSS is all about, and not forgetting that using FOSS in > government-generated computer systems leads to avoidance of license-related > repetitious expenditures. > Yes, your memory is correct and the article was in Mid-Day (looks like malaria hasn't affected your memory, thanks god for that :-) . If I can find the link, I will send it around. After being in open source for ten years, I feel that things are changing and that we should now highlight the positive benefits of open source for society. Let me give one example of how things are changing. I have been explaining open source to journalists for the last ten years and, in most cases, one has always had to explain the basics of open source concepts. However, when the Mid-Day journalists met me last week, they were quite familiar with open source and the concept of sharing knowledge. What a refreshing change! My speculation was that the younger generation of journalists who have grown up with the Internet and social media are probably a lot more receptive to our messages. As more and more of them come into the mass media, it will be easier to get our messages across. My observation of the generational differences is partly confirmed by my colleagues who say that younger generation CIOs are a lot more receptive to open source software. For all of us in the community, this is worth thinking about. In many cases, it may be far more productive for us to spend our time catching the young generation of receptive journalists and technologists instead of trying to convert the older generation. > > I do not understand what you mean by 'a few years away'. The government has > been all to quick to introduce amendments to many Acts apparently found > deficient in some respect or the other, not necessarily for the better. Why > then do you believe it must be a slow process? > > Can we not use the collective strength of this forum and others, equally > perturbed by the intrusion of such a law into our personal freedom, to > hasten this process? > It was my assumption that Amendments go through a long process before finally being tabled in parliament. If that is not the case, I am happy to stand corrected. In any case, I am told that the government is working on a "National IP Policy" though nobody seems to know much about it. This is something that the community will have to kep an eye on. Venky
_______________________________________________ network mailing list [email protected] http://lists.fosscom.in/listinfo.cgi/network-fosscom.in
