Freies Vortragsprogramm (Sa, 06.05.2006)

Access to Knowledge

von Karsten Gerloff (Free Software Foundation Europe)

Samstag, 06.05.2006, Saal 6.1, 12:00-13:00 Uhr

With the spread of digital networks, knowledge has taken centre stage in society. Its properties are inherently different from material goods; this is why access to knowledge is largely determined by regulation. Yet the regulatory system, with copyright and patents at its heart, is so skewed in favour of rights-holders that it does not accomplish its basic function anymore: To serve the public interest by encouraging creativity.

Yet we are currently seeing a change in attitudes to intellectual monopoly powers. For long, discussion in this field only took place between authors, rights-holders and regulators. Now, the fourth – and biggest – group of stakeholders is raising its voice: Society at large.

This presentation will discuss the new role of knowledge in our society. It will then explain basic aspects of the regulation of knowledge, and point out examples where this regulation fails, especially with regard to the public interest.

After this overview of the present, the presentation turns to the future. It introduces the campaign for Access to Knowledge, which is rapidly gathering steam.

The campaign's aim is an international Treaty on Access to Knowledge and Technology, which would recognise as positive rights those needs of the public that are presently only exceptions in copyright and patent legislation.

A first step towards such a treaty is the discussion about a Development Agenda for WIPO. Here, a group of developing countries is working to turn WIPO from a rights-holders agency into an institution serving the interests of all users of the system of intellectual monopoly powers – first and foremost, the public.

Über den Autor Karsten Gerloff:

Since the start of 2005, Karsten has worked with the Free Software Foundation Europe [1]. First as an intern and then as a volunteer, he specialises in topics concerning Access to Knowledge [2]: Copyright, Patents and their impact on society, as well as Free Software and digital civil rights.

At the World Intellectual Property Organisation [3], where FSF Europe is a permanent observer, Karsten works to inform stakeholders and policymakers, as well as networking with other NGOs.

Karsten runs the weblog "Inside, wide-eyed" [4], where he gathers and publishes information on the most recent developments in the field. He is also working on a Masters in Cultural Sciences, with the thesis "Access to Knowledge in a Network Society" due in June 2006.

As getting out the word is part of his work, Karsten has given talks on Access to Knowledge on various occasions, such as What the Hack! festival in 2005 and the Chaos Communication Congress.

[1] http://www.fsfeurope.org
[2] http://www.access2knowledge.org/cs/
[3] http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/wipo/wipo.en.html
[4] http://www.fsfe.org/en/fellows/gerloff/blog