Introducing Internet Society’s Intellectual Property Issues Paper

What made an organization like the Internet Society draft an issues paper on Intellectual Property? What is the aim of this paper? How does the paper relate to overall Internet governance discussions? And, what – if any – impact does it aim to have on the discussions regarding Intellectual Property?

At a time when there is a desire to resolve policy considerations by employing technological measures, the Internet Society, through an issues paper, amongst other things, seeks to chart a path forward: for the Internet Society, it is vital that policy makers develop public policy approaches that are consistent with the principles that have demonstrably worked. For instance, intellectual property enforcement solutions should not be at odds with the underlying architecture of the Internet -- technology can assist intellectual property rights in other ways (e.g. identification of the intent of the content creator), but enforcement is not one of them. The Internet is a unique tool for economic and social empowerment and we should ensure that it continues to perform this significant role. However, some policy initiatives over the last 18-24 months  (SOPA/PIPA and ACTA) resulted in a highly publicized and deep schism between policy, technology and the various stakeholders.

To this end, the Internet Society believes that it is important to articulate a set of minimum standards for all intellectual property discussions. Multistakeholder participation and inclusion, transparency, the rule of law, respect for the Internet’s architecture and upholding the open standards of the Internet, constitute the types of propositions that should be established in intellectual property governance.

Fundamentally, the underlying premise of this paper is neither novel nor new. It is written with the intention to communicate and compile existing ideas that could contribute to the ongoing broad discussions relating to: a) the effect the Internet has on intellectual property rights and, b) the place intellectual property rights should occupy within the Internet ecosystem.

Reflecting on the Intellectual Property discussions thus far, we appear to be lacking such minimum propositions that could help provide a framework for how intellectual property interactions are to be structured, shaped or fashioned. We lack a set of best practices that could provoke forward-looking approaches for how to address this highly contested issue more effectively.

One of the first things we observe is that the realm of intellectual property remains one of the few thematic Internet governance areas that still lacks inclusive structures for stakeholder engagement. This is not to say that multistakeholder discussions relating to intellectual property are not taking place; but such procedural formats are not yet the primary mechanism for discussing intellectual property matters and their potential impact on the Internet. So, although we acknowledge that there is a conscious effort from some stakeholders to end the policy schism and urge the reconciliation of intellectual property with technology, the lack of overall inclusiveness, precludes the emergence of a robust and sustainable way forward.

None of this, of course, is new and the Internet Society’s issues paper does not seek to reinvent the wheel. What it seeks to do, however, is to reflect on the many considerations as they have developed from years of policy making and Internet governance processes. It is through these considerations that the Internet community will much better serve the need to promote the open development and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world.

So, the time is right to reflect and strategize on how to strengthen the dialogue through inclusiveness, transparent processes, adherence to the rule of law and respect of the Internet’s architectural design when talking about intellectual property on the Internet.

You can access the paper here!

Konstantinos Komaitis

Policy Advisor for the Internet Society

Note: This blog post originally appeared on the Internet Society Public Policy page