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Consultation on 'National Geospatial Policy' - Notes and Submission
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by
Anubha Sinha
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published
Mar 29, 2016
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last modified
Mar 29, 2016 05:03 PM
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filed under:
Open Data,
Open Government Data,
Featured,
Geospatial Data,
Openness,
Digital India
The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, has constituted a National Expert Committee for developing a draft National Geospatial Policy (NGP) to provide appropriate guidelines for collection, analysis, use, and distribution of geospatial information across India, and to assure data availability, accessibility and quality. A pre-drafting consultation meeting for the NGP was organised in Delhi on February 03, 2016. Ms. Anubha Sinha represented CIS at the meeting, and shares her notes.
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Openness
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IP Meetup #02: Prabir Purkayastha on the CRI Guidelines and software patenting in India
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by
Anubha Sinha
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published
Mar 20, 2016
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last modified
Mar 29, 2016 05:06 PM
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filed under:
Open Source,
Access to Knowledge,
Software Patents,
Intellectual Property Rights,
FOSS
Located in
Access to Knowledge
/
Events
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Fueling the Affordable Smartphone Revolution in India
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by
Anubha Sinha
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published
Mar 16, 2016
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filed under:
Featured,
Intellectual Property Rights,
Access to Knowledge,
Pervasive Technologies
Smartphones have emerged as the exemplar of mankind's quest for shrinking technologies. They embody the realization of a simple premise – that computing devices would do more and cost less. This realization has been responsible for modern society's profound transformations in communication, governance, and knowledge distribution.
Located in
Access to Knowledge
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Blogs
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The new Guidelines for Computer Related Inventions are a big win for FOSS in India!
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by
Anubha Sinha
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published
Feb 23, 2016
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last modified
Feb 24, 2016 06:30 AM
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filed under:
Featured,
Patents,
Access to Knowledge,
Software Patents
India is one of the few countries which permits patenting of software – a monopolization that has only benefited established corporations and largely throttled innovation in the software industry, worldwide. CIS has consistently advocated against patentablity of software and in a major victory last week, software patenting in India died a little more. This happened via the newly issued Guidelines for the Examination of Computer Related Inventions, which introduces a new test to restrict software patenting – in essence the same legal test that CIS had been proposing since 2010. This post highlights the new test and other noteworthy changes in the Guidelines.
Located in
Access to Knowledge
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Blogs
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IP Meetup #01: Prof. Biswajit Dhar on 'Intellectual Property issues: The Way Forward post Nairobi WTO Ministerial'
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by
Anubha Sinha
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published
Feb 04, 2016
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last modified
Feb 04, 2016 01:25 PM
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filed under:
Intellectual Property Rights,
Event,
Access to Knowledge,
Learning
Prof. Biswajit Dhar will deliver a short talk on what the WTO Nairobi Ministerial means for intellectual property issues, and the way forward, on Sunday, February 7, 2016 at the Centre for Internet & Society's Delhi office, at 4 p.m.
Located in
Access to Knowledge
/
Events
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CIS' submission to Indian Patent Office on Examples of Excluded Patentable subject-matter under Section 3(k) for incorporation in the yet-to-be-released Guidelines for Computer Related Inventions
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by
Anubha Sinha
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published
Jan 28, 2016
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last modified
Feb 22, 2016 09:36 AM
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filed under:
Patents,
Access to Knowledge
The Patent Office had put the Guidelines on Computer Related Inventions, 2015 in abeyance last month. This step was taken after several stakeholders including CIS made representations to the Office about serious substantive legal issues in the document. In furtherance of the consultative process, a meeting was conducted in Mumbai with various stakeholders, chaired by the Controller General of Patents Design Trademarks (“CGPTDM”). Anubha Sinha participated in the meeting, after which the CGPTDM invited submissions from stakeholders on specific examples on exclusions from patentability under section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970, for possible incorporation in the Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions.
Located in
Access to Knowledge
/
Blogs
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Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions in abeyance
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by
Anubha Sinha
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published
Dec 21, 2015
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last modified
Dec 23, 2015 10:06 AM
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filed under:
Intellectual Property Rights,
FOSS,
Software Patents,
Access to Knowledge
The CRI Guidelines were heavily criticised for their failure to address the ambiguities created by Section 3(k) and for expanding the scope of software patent eligibile subject-matter, inter alia.
Following several representations and submissions by interested stakeholders, the Controller General has moved the Guidelines into abeyance, until discussions with stakeholders are complete and contentious issues are resolved, and is a welcome step.
Located in
Access to Knowledge
/
Blogs
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CIS-India Projects: Overlaps with Digital India
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by
Anubha Sinha
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published
Oct 11, 2015
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filed under:
Access to Knowledge
This post documents the overlap of CIS India's work with the nine pillars of the Digital India campaign. The list reflects work completed/underway as of September 2015.
Located in
Access to Knowledge
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Blogs
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Comments on the Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions (CRIs)
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by
Anubha Sinha
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published
Sep 21, 2015
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last modified
Oct 27, 2015 02:46 PM
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filed under:
Software Patents,
Access to Knowledge,
Intellectual Property Rights,
Indian Patents Act Section 3(k),
Patents
Recently, the Indian Patents Office released the Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions (“2015 Guidelines/ Guidelines”) in an attempt to clarify examination of software related patents in India. This post is a pure analysis of the 2015 Guidelines. The new Guidelines, essentially, narrow the exclusions of secttion 3(k), thereby enlarging the scope of software related applications eligible for a patent grant. More alarmingly, there is low emphasis on the application of the subject matter test, increased ambiguity on the nature of subject matter and an exclusionary list of examples appended to the document. In the following post, CIS highlights these concerns and presents solutions, and also proposes a definition of "computer programme per se".
Read on to understand how the new guidelines will potentially lead to an increase in software patenting activity by expanding the scope of patentable subject matter – in negation of the legislative intent of section 3(k) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970.
Located in
Access to Knowledge
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Blogs
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Civic BRICS Forum 2015
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by
Anubha Sinha
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published
Jul 24, 2015
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last modified
Aug 10, 2015 02:27 PM
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filed under:
Access to Knowledge
I attended the Civil BRICS Forum in Moscow last month. My session fell under the Economics and Trade category; and I spoke on the importance of maintaining a balanced IP regime, strengthening access to knowledge and medicines, and ensuring free speech and innovation. The event was held in Moscow from June 29 to July 1, 2015.
Located in
Access to Knowledge
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News & Media