🚀 go-pugleaf

I am posting the following in a personal capacity on behalf of
Prof. Gopinath. Please direct inquiries to Prof. Gopinath.

Bapa Rao
		  
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	           FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT AND
		      CALL FOR PAPERS 

		 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 
		IN COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND THEIR 
		IMPACT ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

Organized by 
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR 
INFORMATION PROCESSING (IFIP WG9.4) and 
COMPUTER SOCIETY OF INDIA (CSI) 
in cooperation with 
INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS (IE) 
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE (IISc) 

DATE: Fri 20-21, Aug'93

VENUE:  Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore INDIA

BACKGROUND

Since the granting of the first software patent in 1981 in the US, and the many
litigations involving user interface copyrights, the issue of 
intellectual property in software has become crucial. This has become
all the more important since the beginning of Uruguay Round of the GATT talks 
in  1987, where  the issue of  protection of intellectual property has
been debated in a general setting.
Most recently (late 1991), the Secretary General of GATT (Arthur Dunkel) has  
proposed a draft (the Dunkel Draft Text - DDT) for consideration by the world 
community. 

The question of intellectual property in computer software 
is not well understood, and DDT contains many new proposals that affect this area 
and that may have far reaching effects in the future. This conference has been
proposed as a venue for examining the issue of intellectual property in 
software and its impact on developing countries. This has become very
pressing as many developing countries are hoping to generate jobs and exports
through computer software.

THE CHOICES BEFORE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The sophistication of a nation's information economy determines
how effectively its physical resources are utilised.
Information technology is important in effecting a mature
information economy. Productivity software that is used in 
developed countries is much too expensive for use in most developing economies.
If such software is to be developed in developing countries due to cost 
reasons, it has to conform with standard interfaces and also 
respect intellectual property rights extant at the time. These requirements
make such software costlier or harder to develop. The DDT proposals
make contracting governments responsible for enforcing these rights. Hence,
it is crucial to investigate the choices before developing countries in the
area of intellectual property rights.


INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR INFORMATION PROCESSING (IFIP)
IFIP has set up a working group (IFIP WG9.4) called ``Social 
Implications of Computers in Developing Countries''
with the objective of promoting discussion of information technology
issues relevant to developing countries.

The proposed conference, in line with this objective,
is to be organized by IFIP WG9.4 and the  Computer Society of India in
cooperation with Institution of Engineers and Indian Institute of Science.

CALL FOR PAPERS
Papers are invited on, but not limited to, the following topics:
 	How well is the existing IPR regime in software currently working in 
		developed and developing countries?
	Do developing countries need alternative IPR regimes?
	Comparative evaluation and impact on a country's economy of different 
		patent regimes: cost of IPR to developing economies
	Creation, classification and access to software patent databases: 
		Issues and various attempts
	Current defensive techniques for avoiding IPR difficulties
	Landmark legal case studies of IPR disputes and their resolution
	Case studies of the workings of national patent offices in the area 
		of software: developed and developing countries
	Impact of Dunkel proposals in developed and developing countries
	Nature and distribution of software patents and actual ownership:
		Cross-licensing
	Perspectives of established software companies in developed countries
		wrt developing countries in the area of IPR
	Licensing of technologies to developing countries: current and past experience
	High cost of productivity software: Strategies and options for
		developing countries. 
	Control of unauthorised duplication of software in developed and 
		developing countries: Strategies and options
	Strategies and options for developing countries post-Dunkel:
		Manpower training?
	Impact of ``open systems'' like IBM PC for world economy: Free Software
		Foundation and other efforts at universities for ``ftp''able
		software
	IPR in automatically generated code
	Philosophical/equity issues in assigning IPR to ``common property 
		resources''
	Case studies of how IPR were articulated and enforced in new
		technologies in the past
	Similarities and differences with IPR in other areas like biotechnology

E-mail submission is strongly encouraged, esp. in Latex / Wordstar format.
If e-mail facility is not available, 
authors should submit five copies of the manuscript in A4
size paper, double space and not exceeding 20 pages.
Papers will be selected through a referral process.
The proceedings of the conference will 
be published by North Holland
under an arrangement with IFIP.

Authors should correspond with:
K. Gopinath, Asst. Prof.
Computer Science & Automation (CSA), 
Indian Institute of Science (IISc),
Bangalore 560012 INDIA 
Telex: 0845-8349 IISc IN 
Fax: 091-0812-341683 
e-mail: ipr@maitreyi.csa.iisc.ernet.in 


IMPORTANT DATES FOR AUTHORS

Full Paper - May 1, '93

Acceptance notice - June 15, '93

Final manuscript - July 15, '93

TECHNICAL PROGRAMME

The conference, a mix of invited and contributed papers
and panel discussions, will be of 2 days duration.
All sessions will be plenary. The official language of the conference will be 
English.

REGISTRATION

Registration fee is Rs750/ $100 which will cover lunches and teas.
Participants from developing countries may apply for subsidy 
>from the registration committee. About 100 participants are expected.

ACCOMMODATION / REGISTRATION

Accommodation arrangements should be made directly by participants. It is 
expected that some housing will be made available in the Institute
Guest House. Details will be made available later. 

BANGALORE
The weather in Bangalore in August is mild and pleasant. The state of
Karnataka has many attractions in terms of wildlife and architecture.
Arrangements can be made for those desiring to visit interesting sights.

ENQUIRIES:
Please mail the following information to (preferably by e-mail): 
K. Gopinath, Asst. Prof.
Computer Science & Automation (CSA), 
Indian Institute of Science (IISc),
 Bangalore 560012 INDIA
Telex: 0845-8349 IISc IN
Fax: 091-0812-341683
e-mail: ipr@maitreyi.csa.iisc.ernet.in

I wish to submit a paper on the following topic: 

I wish to attend as a delegate

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