Announcement: Pad.ma video archive preview | Today
Via: "shaina a"
After-hour relief in porn case
Via: "Prashant Iyengar"
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080222/jsp/bengal/story_8934038.jsp
After-hour relief in porn case
OUR LEGAL REPORTER
Calcutta, Feb. 21: Calcutta High Court today said what a government
employee does after work is his personal business, ordering the
reinstatement of a peon forced to retire for allegedly watching blue
films at home.
Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya also directed the state judicial
department to give Mentu Sheikh his salary arrears since 1992, the
year he was told to take compulsory retirement from the Midnapore
district judge's court.
The judge said Sheikh could not be penalised as "his offence, if any,
had been committed after office hours".
Appearing for the state, advocate Gouri Mukherjee argued that Sheikh
had violated Rule 8 of the Bengal Services (Classification, Control
and Appeal) Rules.
But Bhattacharya said the case would not come under the purview of the
rules as neither Sheikh's neighbours nor police had lodged any
complaint against him.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080222/jsp/bengal/story_8934038.jsp
After-hour relief in porn case
OUR LEGAL REPORTER
Calcutta, Feb. 21: Calcutta High Court today said what a government
employee does after work is his personal business, ordering the
reinstatement of a peon forced to retire for allegedly watching blue
films at home.
Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya also directed the state judicial
department to give Mentu Sheikh his salary arrears since 1992, the
year he was told to take compulsory retirement from the Midnapore
district judge's court.
The judge said Sheikh could not be penalised as "his offence, if any,
had been committed after office hours".
Appearing for the state, advocate Gouri Mukherjee argued that Sheikh
had violated Rule 8 of the Bengal Services (Classification, Control
and Appeal) Rules.
But Bhattacharya said the case would not come under the purview of the
rules as neither Sheikh's neighbours nor police had lodged any
complaint against him.
India laggard in global patent filings
Via: "Prashant Iyengar"
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=10&autono=314652
India laggard in global patent filings
D Ravi Kanth / Geneva February 22, 2008
India has performed poorly in international patent filings last year
compared to its neighbour China, according to data released by the
Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
Filing patent applications under WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty
(PCT) enables companies to secure patent protection in various
countries.
It is a measure for a knowledge-based economy and a barometer of the
spread of innovation-based companies in each country.
In the global race for knowledge-based industries, WIPO's data clearly
suggest that India is far behind China.
India, for example, filed only 686 applications last year to secure
patent protection in countries that are members of the PCT compared to
831 in 2006.
In the same period China's patent applications grew 38.1 per cent to
reach an all-time high 5,456. China's impressive growth in its
innovation-based companies enabled the Middle Kingdom to occupy
seventh place in the world's top 15 countries.
"We expect India to grow rapidly in life-sciences research, but at
this juncture its considerable research and development activity has
not translated into patent filings,' said Francis Gurry,
deputy-director general at WIPO overseeing the PCT work.
The stark differences between these two big economies are due to the
underlying differences in their overall economic activity. While
software and services dominate the Indian economy, new manufacturing
activities are at the centre of the Chinese miracle, Gurry said.
Until now, the industrialised countries — the US, Germany, Japan,
France, Britain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Canada,
Australia, Finland, and Israel — dominated the global rankings in the
patent filings.
Although many of them continue to occupy leading positions, the
emergence of Korea and China as two leading innovation-driven
economies brought a change in the prevailing rankings.
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=10&autono=314652
India laggard in global patent filings
D Ravi Kanth / Geneva February 22, 2008
India has performed poorly in international patent filings last year
compared to its neighbour China, according to data released by the
Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
Filing patent applications under WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty
(PCT) enables companies to secure patent protection in various
countries.
It is a measure for a knowledge-based economy and a barometer of the
spread of innovation-based companies in each country.
In the global race for knowledge-based industries, WIPO's data clearly
suggest that India is far behind China.
India, for example, filed only 686 applications last year to secure
patent protection in countries that are members of the PCT compared to
831 in 2006.
In the same period China's patent applications grew 38.1 per cent to
reach an all-time high 5,456. China's impressive growth in its
innovation-based companies enabled the Middle Kingdom to occupy
seventh place in the world's top 15 countries.
"We expect India to grow rapidly in life-sciences research, but at
this juncture its considerable research and development activity has
not translated into patent filings,' said Francis Gurry,
deputy-director general at WIPO overseeing the PCT work.
The stark differences between these two big economies are due to the
underlying differences in their overall economic activity. While
software and services dominate the Indian economy, new manufacturing
activities are at the centre of the Chinese miracle, Gurry said.
Until now, the industrialised countries — the US, Germany, Japan,
France, Britain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Canada,
Australia, Finland, and Israel — dominated the global rankings in the
patent filings.
Although many of them continue to occupy leading positions, the
emergence of Korea and China as two leading innovation-driven
economies brought a change in the prevailing rankings.
Gandhi's copyright expiry ... debate on Wikisource
Via: "=?UTF-8?Q?Frederick_Noronha?= =?UTF-8?Q?_[=E0=A5=9E=E0=A4=B0?= =?UTF-8?Q?=E0=A5=87=E0=A4=A6=E0=A4=B0=E0=A4=BF=E0=A4=95?= =?UTF-8?Q?_=E0=A4=A8=E0=A5=8B=E0=A4=B0?= =?UTF-8?Q?=E0=A5=8B=E0=A4=A8=E0=A4=AF=E0=A4=BE]?="
Oops... some more on the Gandhi copyright debate. This one from
Wikisource. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource_talk:WikiProject_The_Collected_Works_of_Mahatma_Gandhi
They're referring to http://copyright.gov.in/handbook.htm
Accessed on 22Feb2008. FN
* * *
Wikisource talk:WikiProject The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi
From Wikisource
Jump to: navigation, search
The project page states: "Mahadev Desai who was the personal secretary
of Gandhi died in 1942, so his translations are in the domain public".
Are you sure about this? His translations are in the public domain in
India (unless the source material is not), but because the US doesn't
recogise the law of the shorter term, surely those dated 1923 or later
will not be in the public domain in the US (?) --82.69.202.14 14:10,
13 September 2007 (UTC)
Your claim that the US would not recognise shorter term is purely
idle speculation. That alone is a very poor excuse for keeping
Gandhi's work from the public. Nevertheless, Gandhi died in 1948, and
his work would not normally go into the public domain in India until
the end of 2008. From what I have read before India does not give
additional rights for translations so we would only need to consider
Gandhi's death as relevant. Before singing the mantra that the US does
not recognize the shorter term, would it not be better to establish
that the estate has standing to make the claim in the U.S.
Eclecticology 16:53, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
I agree that we should first follow Indian copyright law for
Indian documents. But India does recognize a translation as giving a
copyright, although it is rarely enforced. See [1]. Yann 17:06, 13
September 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for the reference, but it still does not say that a
translator receives a new copyright. Notably: "Is translation of an
original work also protected by copyright? -- Yes. All the rights of
the original work apply to a translation also." (emphasis mine) would
suggest that Desai (translating with Gandhi's permission) would not
receive a new copyright, but would have his copyright protected under
the terms of Gandhi's own copyright. Where the translator predeceases
the original author the date of his death should have not bearing on
the expiry of the copyright. Eclecticology 17:25, 13 September 2007
(UTC)
Oh oh, I didn't read it that way. That's very interesting and
it opens a whole lot of works. Obviously, Gandhi's copyright would
last longer than Mahadev Desai if that one exists. Yann 10:05, 14
September 2007 (UTC)
Oops... some more on the Gandhi copyright debate. This one from
Wikisource. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource_talk:WikiProject_The_Collected_Works_of_Mahatma_Gandhi
They're referring to http://copyright.gov.in/handbook.htm
Accessed on 22Feb2008. FN
* * *
Wikisource talk:WikiProject The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi
From Wikisource
Jump to: navigation, search
The project page states: "Mahadev Desai who was the personal secretary
of Gandhi died in 1942, so his translations are in the domain public".
Are you sure about this? His translations are in the public domain in
India (unless the source material is not), but because the US doesn't
recogise the law of the shorter term, surely those dated 1923 or later
will not be in the public domain in the US (?) --82.69.202.14 14:10,
13 September 2007 (UTC)
Your claim that the US would not recognise shorter term is purely
idle speculation. That alone is a very poor excuse for keeping
Gandhi's work from the public. Nevertheless, Gandhi died in 1948, and
his work would not normally go into the public domain in India until
the end of 2008. From what I have read before India does not give
additional rights for translations so we would only need to consider
Gandhi's death as relevant. Before singing the mantra that the US does
not recognize the shorter term, would it not be better to establish
that the estate has standing to make the claim in the U.S.
Eclecticology 16:53, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
I agree that we should first follow Indian copyright law for
Indian documents. But India does recognize a translation as giving a
copyright, although it is rarely enforced. See [1]. Yann 17:06, 13
September 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for the reference, but it still does not say that a
translator receives a new copyright. Notably: "Is translation of an
original work also protected by copyright? -- Yes. All the rights of
the original work apply to a translation also." (emphasis mine) would
suggest that Desai (translating with Gandhi's permission) would not
receive a new copyright, but would have his copyright protected under
the terms of Gandhi's own copyright. Where the translator predeceases
the original author the date of his death should have not bearing on
the expiry of the copyright. Eclecticology 17:25, 13 September 2007
(UTC)
Oh oh, I didn't read it that way. That's very interesting and
it opens a whole lot of works. Obviously, Gandhi's copyright would
last longer than Mahadev Desai if that one exists. Yann 10:05, 14
September 2007 (UTC)
Auction of Gandhi's letters no big deal: historian
Via: "=?UTF-8?Q?Frederick_Noronha?= =?UTF-8?Q?_[=E0=A5=9E=E0=A4=B0?= =?UTF-8?Q?=E0=A5=87=E0=A4=A6=E0=A4=B0=E0=A4=BF=E0=A4=95?= =?UTF-8?Q?_=E0=A4=A8=E0=A5=8B=E0=A4=B0?= =?UTF-8?Q?=E0=A5=8B=E0=A4=A8=E0=A4=AF=E0=A4=BE]?="
Saw this a few months late. FN
http://blogs.ibibo.com/ViewComments.aspx?blogid=c64aff7f-3964-4c4c-a873-4dbd903d6a38&mid=6a14bd39-f456-4afa-bff7-ed067f9daa67
Auction of Gandhi's letters no big deal: historian
Posted by Madhu Vamsi in Its my life on June 28, 2007 5:07:00 PM
Auction of Gandhi's letters no big deal: historians
Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi and Dilip Patel in Ahmedabad
The Prime Minister's Office in New Delhi has stepped up efforts
through official channels to acquire the letters and manuscript
written and signed by Mahatma Gandhi [Images] just before his
assassination and which are coming up for auction in London [Images]
on July 3.
Christie's has fixed the opening bid for the draft at 12,000 pounds
(app Rs 9,80,000). The issue came up when Satya Paul, senior member of
Servants of the People Society drew the government's attention to the
sale.
However, many Gandhians and historians have expressed scepticism over the issue.
Many, including historian Ramchandra Guha, are of the view that the
issue will only benefit Christie's, the renowned auction house.
According to Christie's web site, a manuscript written by Gandhi just
19 days before his assassination in 1948 is part of a collection
titled 'The Albin Schram Collection of Autograph Letters', a personal
and private collection assembled over a period of 30 years by Albin
Schram, a Switzerland-based collector.
However, Gandhi had bequeathed all the rights to his books, writings
and letters to Navjivan Trust, which he had set up in Ahmedabad.
Jitendra Desai, managing trustee of Navjivan, says, "I find this
controversy quite unnecessary. In the past too, similar issues have
come up. We are not sure about the legalities. Gandhi has written
thousands of letters to many individuals. Who owns those letters?
Gandhiji or the people who has been addressed in those letters? This
has to be resolved first."
He claimed that there have been earlier instances as well of people
selling Gandhi's letters in other parts of Europe. Desai said the
Navjivan Trust doesn't plan any proactive action in this regard.
For foreigners Mahatma Gandhi is merely M K Gandhi and there have been
instances when public auctions may not have drawn much attention in
India, said a retired teacher in Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad.
Gandhians in India feel that obviously, Christie's does not understand
what Gandhiji stands for.
Talking to an Indian television channel Thomas Venning of Christie's
said, 'The Gandhi letter is great. It was written very shortly before
he died -- and it's about the issue effectively that killed him. He
was killed by a Hindu fanatic because he urged a moderate policy
toward Muslims.'
The Christie's web site claims that the manuscript signed 'M K Gandhi'
dated January 11, 1948, contains a 7-page draft written for Urdu
Harijan. In the article Gandhiji announces his regret at having to
discontinue the publication of his mouthpiece Harijan in Urdu script.
He writes: 'The dwindle (in demand) was to me a sign of resentment
against its publication. My view remains unalterable especially at
this critical juncture in our history. It is wrong to ruffle Muslim or
any other person's feelings when there is no question of ethics.'
Gandhi urges the advantages of learning Urdu script: 'The limitations
of this script in terms of perfection are many. But for elegance and
grace it will equal any script in the world'. He considers the
potential of Urdu for shorthand, and for the transcription of Sanskrit
verses; any suggestion of a boycott on Urdu script is 'a wanton
affront upon the Muslims of the Union who in the eyes of many Hindus
have become aliens in their own land. This is copying the bad manners
of Pakistan with a vengeance'. The address ends with a ringing call to
'Muslim friends' not only to support the Urdu edition but to learn the
Nagari script and thus 'enrich their intellectual capital'.
British High Commissioner Sir Michael Arthur told the media in New
Delhi on Wednesday that the Indian government hasn't spoken to him on
the issue so far. He admitted it would be difficult for the Indian
government to acquire the letter in the open market.
Desai is not impressed by Christie's attempts at marketing Gandhi's
writings. He says, "We should understand the philosophy of Gandhi.
It's more relevant now. The United Nations has just declared that
October 2 will be observed as non-violence day. After fighting so many
wars the world is coming back to the basics of his philosophy. The
world has lost its battles by resorting to violence."
Clearing the air about the Intellectual Property Rights over Gandhi's
writings Desai said that on February 20, 1940, Gandhi made a will in
favour of Navjivan Trust.
In it he had said, 'I do not believe that I have any property.
Nevertheless, anything which by social convention or in law is
considered mine: anything movable or immovable; books, articles etc
that I have written and may write hereafter, whether printed or not
printed and all their copyright; I endow as my heirs the Navjivan
Institution, whom I hereby declare as my heirs.'
He had also said at the time that Navjivan Trust will give to the
Harijan Sevak Sangh (founded by Gandhi) 25 per cent of the net profit
it earns from the sale of books and exercising its copyright.
Desai, who has been associated with Navjivan Mudranalaya for 50 years,
says Gandhiji's trust, currently headed by Biharibhai Shah, 94, sells
over Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 crore worth of books every year.
He says all the books are heavily subsidised by the trust's corpus.
Out of the 250 to 300 books in English, Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu
containing Gandhi's writings, columns and letters, the bestseller
remains his autobiography in 12 Indian languages.
The story of my experiments with truth, translated by Mahadev Desai,
is sold even now for Rs 30. The highest selling regional edition is
Malayalam, said Desai.
"You are talking about Christie's letters. Even 59 years after Bapu's
death Navjivan Trust receives letters, postcards and Bapu's belongings
from nooks and corners of India. Poor people without any expectation
of money or reward send us Bapu's writings," Desai said.
He says valuable items are sent to the Gandhi-founded Sabarmati Ashram
on the banks of the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad.
Far away from the world of Christie's, in this ashram, more than
34,011 letters written by Gandhi, all of them digitised, are stored.
In 1954-55, on a request from the government, people had donated
letters, writings and everything connected with Gandhi to the central
government.
With the help of that invaluable contribution around 100 volumes of
the Collected Works of Mahatama Gandhi were produced. Most of the
letters were returned to the senders after taking photocopies, Desai
pointed out.
He said, "Just a few days back I have received a letter written by
Gandhiji from an old man in Surat. He wanted to donate his priced
possession in his old age to the Gandhi Ashram. His letter has now
been sent to the Sabarmati Ashram."
Saw this a few months late. FN
http://blogs.ibibo.com/ViewComments.aspx?blogid=c64aff7f-3964-4c4c-a873-4dbd903d6a38&mid=6a14bd39-f456-4afa-bff7-ed067f9daa67
Auction of Gandhi's letters no big deal: historian
Posted by Madhu Vamsi in Its my life on June 28, 2007 5:07:00 PM
Auction of Gandhi's letters no big deal: historians
Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi and Dilip Patel in Ahmedabad
The Prime Minister's Office in New Delhi has stepped up efforts
through official channels to acquire the letters and manuscript
written and signed by Mahatma Gandhi [Images] just before his
assassination and which are coming up for auction in London [Images]
on July 3.
Christie's has fixed the opening bid for the draft at 12,000 pounds
(app Rs 9,80,000). The issue came up when Satya Paul, senior member of
Servants of the People Society drew the government's attention to the
sale.
However, many Gandhians and historians have expressed scepticism over the issue.
Many, including historian Ramchandra Guha, are of the view that the
issue will only benefit Christie's, the renowned auction house.
According to Christie's web site, a manuscript written by Gandhi just
19 days before his assassination in 1948 is part of a collection
titled 'The Albin Schram Collection of Autograph Letters', a personal
and private collection assembled over a period of 30 years by Albin
Schram, a Switzerland-based collector.
However, Gandhi had bequeathed all the rights to his books, writings
and letters to Navjivan Trust, which he had set up in Ahmedabad.
Jitendra Desai, managing trustee of Navjivan, says, "I find this
controversy quite unnecessary. In the past too, similar issues have
come up. We are not sure about the legalities. Gandhi has written
thousands of letters to many individuals. Who owns those letters?
Gandhiji or the people who has been addressed in those letters? This
has to be resolved first."
He claimed that there have been earlier instances as well of people
selling Gandhi's letters in other parts of Europe. Desai said the
Navjivan Trust doesn't plan any proactive action in this regard.
For foreigners Mahatma Gandhi is merely M K Gandhi and there have been
instances when public auctions may not have drawn much attention in
India, said a retired teacher in Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad.
Gandhians in India feel that obviously, Christie's does not understand
what Gandhiji stands for.
Talking to an Indian television channel Thomas Venning of Christie's
said, 'The Gandhi letter is great. It was written very shortly before
he died -- and it's about the issue effectively that killed him. He
was killed by a Hindu fanatic because he urged a moderate policy
toward Muslims.'
The Christie's web site claims that the manuscript signed 'M K Gandhi'
dated January 11, 1948, contains a 7-page draft written for Urdu
Harijan. In the article Gandhiji announces his regret at having to
discontinue the publication of his mouthpiece Harijan in Urdu script.
He writes: 'The dwindle (in demand) was to me a sign of resentment
against its publication. My view remains unalterable especially at
this critical juncture in our history. It is wrong to ruffle Muslim or
any other person's feelings when there is no question of ethics.'
Gandhi urges the advantages of learning Urdu script: 'The limitations
of this script in terms of perfection are many. But for elegance and
grace it will equal any script in the world'. He considers the
potential of Urdu for shorthand, and for the transcription of Sanskrit
verses; any suggestion of a boycott on Urdu script is 'a wanton
affront upon the Muslims of the Union who in the eyes of many Hindus
have become aliens in their own land. This is copying the bad manners
of Pakistan with a vengeance'. The address ends with a ringing call to
'Muslim friends' not only to support the Urdu edition but to learn the
Nagari script and thus 'enrich their intellectual capital'.
British High Commissioner Sir Michael Arthur told the media in New
Delhi on Wednesday that the Indian government hasn't spoken to him on
the issue so far. He admitted it would be difficult for the Indian
government to acquire the letter in the open market.
Desai is not impressed by Christie's attempts at marketing Gandhi's
writings. He says, "We should understand the philosophy of Gandhi.
It's more relevant now. The United Nations has just declared that
October 2 will be observed as non-violence day. After fighting so many
wars the world is coming back to the basics of his philosophy. The
world has lost its battles by resorting to violence."
Clearing the air about the Intellectual Property Rights over Gandhi's
writings Desai said that on February 20, 1940, Gandhi made a will in
favour of Navjivan Trust.
In it he had said, 'I do not believe that I have any property.
Nevertheless, anything which by social convention or in law is
considered mine: anything movable or immovable; books, articles etc
that I have written and may write hereafter, whether printed or not
printed and all their copyright; I endow as my heirs the Navjivan
Institution, whom I hereby declare as my heirs.'
He had also said at the time that Navjivan Trust will give to the
Harijan Sevak Sangh (founded by Gandhi) 25 per cent of the net profit
it earns from the sale of books and exercising its copyright.
Desai, who has been associated with Navjivan Mudranalaya for 50 years,
says Gandhiji's trust, currently headed by Biharibhai Shah, 94, sells
over Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 crore worth of books every year.
He says all the books are heavily subsidised by the trust's corpus.
Out of the 250 to 300 books in English, Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu
containing Gandhi's writings, columns and letters, the bestseller
remains his autobiography in 12 Indian languages.
The story of my experiments with truth, translated by Mahadev Desai,
is sold even now for Rs 30. The highest selling regional edition is
Malayalam, said Desai.
"You are talking about Christie's letters. Even 59 years after Bapu's
death Navjivan Trust receives letters, postcards and Bapu's belongings
from nooks and corners of India. Poor people without any expectation
of money or reward send us Bapu's writings," Desai said.
He says valuable items are sent to the Gandhi-founded Sabarmati Ashram
on the banks of the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad.
Far away from the world of Christie's, in this ashram, more than
34,011 letters written by Gandhi, all of them digitised, are stored.
In 1954-55, on a request from the government, people had donated
letters, writings and everything connected with Gandhi to the central
government.
With the help of that invaluable contribution around 100 volumes of
the Collected Works of Mahatama Gandhi were produced. Most of the
letters were returned to the senders after taking photocopies, Desai
pointed out.
He said, "Just a few days back I have received a letter written by
Gandhiji from an old man in Surat. He wanted to donate his priced
possession in his old age to the Gandhi Ashram. His letter has now
been sent to the Sabarmati Ashram."
Gandhi ... and copyright
Via: "=?UTF-8?Q?Frederick_Noronha?= =?UTF-8?Q?_[=E0=A5=9E=E0=A4=B0?= =?UTF-8?Q?=E0=A5=87=E0=A4=A6=E0=A4=B0=E0=A4=BF=E0=A4=95?= =?UTF-8?Q?_=E0=A4=A8=E0=A5=8B=E0=A4=B0?= =?UTF-8?Q?=E0=A5=8B=E0=A4=A8=E0=A4=AF=E0=A4=BE]?="
What I found strange about the post below was, why would any publisher
want to buy the copyright if it's going to expire in a year's time in
any case?
On an unrelated note, a Gandhian friend of mine was very upset that
some of the Gandhi copyrights had been bought up and were being
controlled from abroad. (If I recall right, it was about
Gandhi-related photographs.)
Lastly, this report makes it seem as if the Navajivan Press is earning
significantly from copyrights:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/212347.cms
Wonder what would be the Gandhian approach towards copyright (if
discussed) and are the claims of significant earnings from copyright
realistic, given the low cost at which Gandhi-related publications are
usually priced? (I could be wrong in some of the assumptions I make.)
FN
[Commons-Law] Valuing the Mahatma's Words
Pranesh Prakash the.solipsist at gmail.com
Tue Feb 5 11:52:37 IST 2008
Dear All,
Does anyone know more about the mutual trade in copyright that this article
talks about? And does anyone have any guesses as to why don't we hear about
copyright auctions? I'm sure it will be more efficient than current
practices of negotiating individually with a number of different publishers.
Regards,
Pranesh
>From Daily News & Analysis:
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1149013
*Valuing the Mahatma's Words*
Puneet Nicholas Yadav
Monday, February 04, 2008 10:21 IST
NEW DELHI: Sixty years after his death, the Mahatma's philosophies and works
continue to evoke interest and spell big business too. So much so that
there's a 'copyright exhibition' of works on and by Gandhi at the Annual
World Book Fair in the Capital.
Organised by the National Book Trust (NBT), the exhibition titled 'Gandhi —
in words and deeds' will give publishers from across the world an
opportunity to buy and sell the copyrights of their titles on Gandhi.
The exhibition showcases nearly 1,200 books on Bapu, besides books authored
by Gandhi himself, and compilations of his letters and other works.
The exhibition also has on display books published by the Navjivan Trust
which currently owns the copyright for all the 194 books and compilations by
the Mahatma.
The trust also has rights over several other books on him including the
10-part biography written by Mahatma's secretary of 28 years, Pyarelal and
his sister Sushila Nayyar. But the copyright will expire this year, and this
has brought Navjivan to the exhibition.
"We constantly get queries about the works written by Bapu and the other
books published by us on him. As our copyright expires this year, we thought
the exhibition could give us a good platform to showcase the work to
publishers from across the world. They can see the books and contact us for
the copyright," said managing trustee Jitendra Desai.
Nearly 160 publishers are participating in the exhibition and the NBT has
catalogued about 700 books, which feature in the expo. The catalogue will
enable publishers to continue the copyright sale and purchase process even
after the exhibition ends on February 10.
Many of the books, including a rare five-part biography of the Mahatma in
Urdu, have not yet been translated. The NBT hopes the exhibition will create
an awareness and publishers from across the globe will show an interest in
translating the works as well as buying the copyright.
"We have been receiving tremendous response ever since we charted out the
proposal for this expo. Many international publishers have shown interest in
exchange of copyrights of their works. The catalogue will help these
publishers to mutually trade in copyright," said NBT director Prof Nuzhat
Hasan.
And Gandhi's works would also spell big bucks for publishers. If more than
one publisher bids for the copyright of a particular book, the publisher can
trade with the highest bidder.
What I found strange about the post below was, why would any publisher
want to buy the copyright if it's going to expire in a year's time in
any case?
On an unrelated note, a Gandhian friend of mine was very upset that
some of the Gandhi copyrights had been bought up and were being
controlled from abroad. (If I recall right, it was about
Gandhi-related photographs.)
Lastly, this report makes it seem as if the Navajivan Press is earning
significantly from copyrights:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/212347.cms
Wonder what would be the Gandhian approach towards copyright (if
discussed) and are the claims of significant earnings from copyright
realistic, given the low cost at which Gandhi-related publications are
usually priced? (I could be wrong in some of the assumptions I make.)
FN
[Commons-Law] Valuing the Mahatma's Words
Pranesh Prakash the.solipsist at gmail.com
Tue Feb 5 11:52:37 IST 2008
Dear All,
Does anyone know more about the mutual trade in copyright that this article
talks about? And does anyone have any guesses as to why don't we hear about
copyright auctions? I'm sure it will be more efficient than current
practices of negotiating individually with a number of different publishers.
Regards,
Pranesh
>From Daily News & Analysis:
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1149013
*Valuing the Mahatma's Words*
Puneet Nicholas Yadav
Monday, February 04, 2008 10:21 IST
NEW DELHI: Sixty years after his death, the Mahatma's philosophies and works
continue to evoke interest and spell big business too. So much so that
there's a 'copyright exhibition' of works on and by Gandhi at the Annual
World Book Fair in the Capital.
Organised by the National Book Trust (NBT), the exhibition titled 'Gandhi —
in words and deeds' will give publishers from across the world an
opportunity to buy and sell the copyrights of their titles on Gandhi.
The exhibition showcases nearly 1,200 books on Bapu, besides books authored
by Gandhi himself, and compilations of his letters and other works.
The exhibition also has on display books published by the Navjivan Trust
which currently owns the copyright for all the 194 books and compilations by
the Mahatma.
The trust also has rights over several other books on him including the
10-part biography written by Mahatma's secretary of 28 years, Pyarelal and
his sister Sushila Nayyar. But the copyright will expire this year, and this
has brought Navjivan to the exhibition.
"We constantly get queries about the works written by Bapu and the other
books published by us on him. As our copyright expires this year, we thought
the exhibition could give us a good platform to showcase the work to
publishers from across the world. They can see the books and contact us for
the copyright," said managing trustee Jitendra Desai.
Nearly 160 publishers are participating in the exhibition and the NBT has
catalogued about 700 books, which feature in the expo. The catalogue will
enable publishers to continue the copyright sale and purchase process even
after the exhibition ends on February 10.
Many of the books, including a rare five-part biography of the Mahatma in
Urdu, have not yet been translated. The NBT hopes the exhibition will create
an awareness and publishers from across the globe will show an interest in
translating the works as well as buying the copyright.
"We have been receiving tremendous response ever since we charted out the
proposal for this expo. Many international publishers have shown interest in
exchange of copyrights of their works. The catalogue will help these
publishers to mutually trade in copyright," said NBT director Prof Nuzhat
Hasan.
And Gandhi's works would also spell big bucks for publishers. If more than
one publisher bids for the copyright of a particular book, the publisher can
trade with the highest bidder.
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