8 ms·

India makes good on vow to sabotage ACTA

124 points by CoryOndrejka 16y ago

nileshtrivedi 16y ago
Surprisingly, there is very little discussion happening on this topic on Indian tech forums like pluggd.in or medianama.com. Overall, the Indian government's main concern is about the impact on the generic pharmaceuticals industry. I hope officials high up are also considering the digital media angle.
- lallysingh 16y ago
  Frankly, India's got a 40% poverty rate. They care about the basic needs of their people first. If they do care about digital media, it's very, very, very low on the list of priorities.
  - papachito 16y ago
    As a matter of fact, the digital economy play a huge role in the 60% abot poverty rate. So it should matter to them.
    - ericd 16y ago
      You're not talking about digital media in that case. It's the rest of the "digital economy" that matters to them, specifically the telecommunications part.
    - shadowfox 16y ago
      Care to elaborate?
  - vamsee 16y ago
    I find that a wee bit patronizing. You'd be surprised how rapidly the economy and priorities are changing in India. While basic needs are important, that's not the only thing we care about. Individual rights, technology, infrastructure, you name it, India is changing in every facet of political and social spectrum. This is very much in tune with the current level of policy awareness/activism in India.
    - nebula 16y ago
      'Individual rights' in India? I would be pleased if you can point me to something (an event, a case won, etc.,) that highlights the fact that there's hope that eventually India would move towards respecting individual rights.
      - boundlessdreamz 16y ago
        What makes you think it is not respected now? Are you an Indian. I think my individual rights are fairly well protected (except if i'm in lawless state like Bihar)
        india 16y ago
        I am an Indian and I can point you to a number of incidents involving banning of books, movies and jailing of artists. People jailed for posting anti Sonia Gandhi messages on Orkut[1], banning of the comic Savita Bhabhi[2], seizing of Ask Me servers pre trial[3] are recent relevant examples off the top of my head. [1] http://www.merinews.com/article/man-jailed-for-posting-obscene-content-on-orkut/134255.shtml http://www.merinews.com/article/man-jailed-for-posting-obsce... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savita_Bhabhi#Ban_and_criticism_of_the_ban http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savita_Bhabhi#Ban_and_criticism... [3] http://news.oneindia.in/2010/01/30/data-theft-hc-asks-askme-in-to-shut-down.html http://news.oneindia.in/2010/01/30/data-theft-hc-asks-askme-...
        boundlessdreamz 16y ago
        Apart from [3] which I don't have much idea of, the other two instances, the state acted within the framework of the law. Granted that, the orkut case the state cracked down disproportionately. But If i want to criticize sonia gandhi on a blog, I can as long as I keep the language civil. That's what I meant by my comment that my freedoms are fairly well protected. We do have some very archaic laws and I woud like less censorship on the matters of religion and pornography but even within the current framework of laws a great deal can be done
  - gaius 16y ago
    India has nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers and a space programme. Just a little perspective there. To all intents and purposes it's a wealthy, modern, powerful country, not a third-world backwater. Regardless of your stance on intellectual property, there's no justification for India behaving any differently than the US or an EU country.
    - democracy 16y ago
      Sorry to disappoint you, but India IS a developing third-world country (though the term "third-world" is somehow old and maybe doesn't reflect the current political situtation any more).
- india 16y ago
  This is exactly why I would like to see some new voices on the Indian tech scene. We have got some of the most absurd IT laws and processes of any country. Privacy might as well be absent from the tech debate here. Our record on freedom of speech is abysmal. I so wish there was at least someone influential in India voicing these concerns.
forinti 16y ago
Sabotage entails (for me, at least) some furtiveness and it seems to me that they are very clear about their motives and desires. And they are completely within their right.
- CoryOndrejka 16y ago
  Fair point. I am thrilled by India's actions and didn't mean to imply they weren't acting exactly as they said they would.
- wazoox 16y ago
  Correction: they are completely within everybody else's right (except RIAA and al).
- lenni 16y ago
  Indeed, global organisations like the WTO will have to get used to countries like India and Brazil catering to their own interests as bluntly as the European and North American countries.
JulianMorrison 16y ago
Thank you, India.
known 16y ago
ACTA is not a win-win proposition for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World
- ROFISH 16y ago
  I've heard a few rumors that ACTA's primary purpose is not meant for piracy controls inside the respective countries like US or EU, but instead about piracy of street-vendors in third world countries. The reason for the secrecy was to keep them out so they don't complain. The problem, of course, is that it's too generic and overarching and nobody wins except Big Copyright. When a country is worried about a treaty affecting generic drug manufacturing, IP laws have gone too far.

124 points by CoryOndrejka 16y ago

Surprisingly, there is very little discussion happening on this topic on Indian tech forums like pluggd.in or medianama.com. Overall, the Indian government's main concern is about the impact on the generic pharmaceuticals industry. I hope officials high up are also considering the digital media angle.

lallysingh 16y ago
Frankly, India's got a 40% poverty rate. They care about the basic needs of their people first. If they do care about digital media, it's very, very, very low on the list of priorities.
- papachito 16y ago
  As a matter of fact, the digital economy play a huge role in the 60% abot poverty rate. So it should matter to them.
  - ericd 16y ago
    You're not talking about digital media in that case. It's the rest of the "digital economy" that matters to them, specifically the telecommunications part.
  - shadowfox 16y ago
    Care to elaborate?
- vamsee 16y ago
  I find that a wee bit patronizing. You'd be surprised how rapidly the economy and priorities are changing in India. While basic needs are important, that's not the only thing we care about. Individual rights, technology, infrastructure, you name it, India is changing in every facet of political and social spectrum. This is very much in tune with the current level of policy awareness/activism in India.
  - nebula 16y ago
    'Individual rights' in India? I would be pleased if you can point me to something (an event, a case won, etc.,) that highlights the fact that there's hope that eventually India would move towards respecting individual rights.
    - boundlessdreamz 16y ago
      What makes you think it is not respected now? Are you an Indian. I think my individual rights are fairly well protected (except if i'm in lawless state like Bihar)
      - india 16y ago
        I am an Indian and I can point you to a number of incidents involving banning of books, movies and jailing of artists. People jailed for posting anti Sonia Gandhi messages on Orkut[1], banning of the comic Savita Bhabhi[2], seizing of Ask Me servers pre trial[3] are recent relevant examples off the top of my head. [1] http://www.merinews.com/article/man-jailed-for-posting-obscene-content-on-orkut/134255.shtml http://www.merinews.com/article/man-jailed-for-posting-obsce... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savita_Bhabhi#Ban_and_criticism_of_the_ban http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savita_Bhabhi#Ban_and_criticism... [3] http://news.oneindia.in/2010/01/30/data-theft-hc-asks-askme-in-to-shut-down.html http://news.oneindia.in/2010/01/30/data-theft-hc-asks-askme-...
        boundlessdreamz 16y ago
        Apart from [3] which I don't have much idea of, the other two instances, the state acted within the framework of the law. Granted that, the orkut case the state cracked down disproportionately. But If i want to criticize sonia gandhi on a blog, I can as long as I keep the language civil. That's what I meant by my comment that my freedoms are fairly well protected. We do have some very archaic laws and I woud like less censorship on the matters of religion and pornography but even within the current framework of laws a great deal can be done
- gaius 16y ago
  India has nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers and a space programme. Just a little perspective there. To all intents and purposes it's a wealthy, modern, powerful country, not a third-world backwater. Regardless of your stance on intellectual property, there's no justification for India behaving any differently than the US or an EU country.
  - democracy 16y ago
    Sorry to disappoint you, but India IS a developing third-world country (though the term "third-world" is somehow old and maybe doesn't reflect the current political situtation any more).
india 16y ago
This is exactly why I would like to see some new voices on the Indian tech scene. We have got some of the most absurd IT laws and processes of any country. Privacy might as well be absent from the tech debate here. Our record on freedom of speech is abysmal. I so wish there was at least someone influential in India voicing these concerns.

forinti 16y ago

Sabotage entails (for me, at least) some furtiveness and it seems to me that they are very clear about their motives and desires. And they are completely within their right.

CoryOndrejka 16y ago
Fair point. I am thrilled by India's actions and didn't mean to imply they weren't acting exactly as they said they would.
wazoox 16y ago
Correction: they are completely within everybody else's right (except RIAA and al).
lenni 16y ago
Indeed, global organisations like the WTO will have to get used to countries like India and Brazil catering to their own interests as bluntly as the European and North American countries.

JulianMorrison 16y ago

Thank you, India.

known 16y ago

ACTA is not a win-win proposition for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World

ROFISH 16y ago
I've heard a few rumors that ACTA's primary purpose is not meant for piracy controls inside the respective countries like US or EU, but instead about piracy of street-vendors in third world countries. The reason for the secrecy was to keep them out so they don't complain. The problem, of course, is that it's too generic and overarching and nobody wins except Big Copyright. When a country is worried about a treaty affecting generic drug manufacturing, IP laws have gone too far.