| Abstract |
\nThe legal concept and cultural/economic phenomena known as 'copyright' has a long lineage in the West, stretching back to the Gutenberg 'revolution' and Britain's 1709 Statute of Ann. In the twenty first century, there have already been four important changes in the copyright landscape: \n\n1) copyright is now primarily a global (not merely national) phenomenon - due, in part, to the 1995 TRIPS Agreement; \n2) we now live in a purported 'age of information', due to computerisation, digitalisation, and the Internet; \n3) intellectual property, including copyright, has become an extremely valuable intangible commodity, with growing number of multi-national enterprises joining in this contemporary global 'gold rush'; \n4) copyright increasingly impacts on the global South where two thirds of the world's population lives. \n\nSo this project asks: what has been the impact of these recent global, technological, and financial developments on the global South ( more commonly known as 'developing countries') ? Most current debate on copyright expansion has been dominated by US-based 'copyright industries' and commentators; evidence, including from the global South, is often missing from the 'accepted wisdom' and Southern voices are unheard. \n\nThis proposal asks for AHRC funding to create a 'Copy South Research Network' to examine and analyse various aspects of these essential issues. Building on the preliminary efforts of an international pilot group, which held an exploratory meeting at the University of Kent in 2005 and published the experimental Copy/South Dossier, \n this international and inter-disciplinary network will facilitate knowledge transfer and academic collaboration on a global basis / with particular emphasis on South Asia, Latin America, Africa, the US, and Europe. Two workshops will be held in South America (Caracas) and South Asia (Mumbai) and participants will include leading researchers in the field together with cultural creators, such as musicians and writers, librarians, and 'information activists' from across the global South. \n\nAmong the research questions to be specified and examined: how has the spread of copyright (and the Internet) affected cultural diversity and cultural creation in the South? Is the 'age of information' a meaningful descriptor for Southern countries, especially those least developed? For teachers and students, what precise role is copyright playing in the creation - or the blocking of access - to texts and learning materials? Is the global trade in copyrighted goods fair and even-handed? What sociological and economic factors lie behind widespread copyright piracy? Are alternative models possible that ensure both creativity and access? \n\nThe results of this 24-month research programme would be spread to the various target audience through online global Copyright debating blogs, copyright 'hot topic' briefing papers, and a second Dossier of research findings. An updated and interactive website / in both English and Spanish / will also disseminate the research and spur the requisite North/South dialogue. \n\nThe diversity of members of the network create the possibility of forming a inter-disciplinary team representing six disciplines on five continents ... and a grouping itself rich in cultural and language diversity. Such a network, a number of whose members have already worked together informally, would possess both the theoretical expertise and on-the ground experience that, with sufficient funding and a more formalised organisation based on a clearer division of labour, would represent the real potentials of a globalised world. Trying to ensure the work of the network continues and broadens after April 2010 will be a priority goal. \n \n |