The Internet Finds Itself in a Web – What the U.S Withdrawal from ICANN and its Transition Signify

Posted on by Tech Law Forum @ NALSAR
The following post is by Madhulika Srikumar, a fourth year student at GNLU, Gandhinagar. She has an avid interest in the debate on ownership of Internet, Internet security and freedoms, and has worked earlier on issues relating to ICANN and Internet Jurisdiction. She brings us an interesting commentary on the US withdrawl from ICANN, and how it  may affect Internet Governance as it currently exists.

The Internet finds itself in a “web” these days, a web of polarizing powers and conflicting interests; a web that could possibly result in changing the Internet as we know it. Attempting to untangle this web is no mean feat.

The Internet is best defined by the values that formed it. These values are of “open” code or software that govern the Internet, whose source is available to all and can be taken, modified and improved. It is these ideals that many still hope to preserve in today’s Internet governance.

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Facebook, 'Internet.org' and the Ignored Questions of Civil Liberties

Posted on by Kartik Chawla

(Image Source: https://flic.kr/p/4W8mW)

 Earlier yesterday, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg met with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad (who curiously also holds the Ministry of Law and Justice portfolio). The Facebook CEO was in New Delhi on the 9th and 10th of October for the Internet.org summit.

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TechLawForum@NALSAR noted on SpicyIP!

Posted on by Tech Law Forum @ NALSAR

It is with great pleasure that we announce that the TechLawForum@NALSAR Blog has found mention on SpicyIP in its list of “New Online IPR/Media/Tech Resources – For Students, Teachers and Researchers“!  The post specifically notes the 101s and the Commons, and also notes the wonderful Teaching and Learning Resources initiative of the Centre for Communication Governance (CCG, NLU-D), along with other resources. (In the interests of full disclosure, we would like to note that SpicyIP’s Editor-in-Chief Swaraj Paul Barooah is the External Advisor of the Blog).

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The “Bang Bang” Order: ‘Likely’ Copyright Infringement Trumps Intermediary Immunity

Posted on by Veera Mahuli

(Image Source: https://flic.kr/p/o9EcaJ)

This post examines the order given by the Delhi High Court (DHC), which is the third in a series of worrying orders by the DHC, from the perspective of Intermediary Liability.

In order to ensure no possible online access to Bollywood film “Bang Bang” which released on Oct 2, the Delhi High Court on Sep 30 directed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to around 90 websites which could have streamed, broadcasted or provided online access to the film. The restraint order was passed by the Court on a suit filed by Fox Star Studios, one of the producers of the film. A separate list of 72 websites was submitted to the High Court by the producer, contending that the movie should be unable to be watched on the internet without its permission and 18 other websites were made parties to the suit by the producers. While the order mentioned 90 websites specifically, it brings ‘other websites as subsequently notified by the producers’ within its purview, thereby making it extremely likely for websites beyond those specifically mentioned to be blocked.  Further hearing on this matter will take place on Nov 21, 2014.

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A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: The Trans-Pacific Partnership

Posted on by Jitesh Anand

[Image Source: http://flic.kr/p/osRzan]

After the scrapping of the ‘Stop Online Piracy Act’ (SOPA) and the ‘Protect IP Act’ (PIPA) in the U.S., one could have been under the impression that the Internet would be free from unadulterated interference by the government. SOPA and PIPA basically gave the government unprecedented powers to shut down any website/blog at will. Be that as it may, few know about the presence of an equally perilous agreement called the ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership’. U.S. is a key member of this partnership bolstered by corporate lobbyists and this will ultimately be pushed down on all countries around the world by means of trade deals. WikiLeaks in recent times has released some draft chapters of the TPP. In this blog post, I will try to analyze some contentious provisions of the TPP from the viewpoint of an Indian internet user.

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Regulating a Revolution – 3D Printing

Posted on by Kartik Chawla

(Image Source: https://flic.kr/p/kvjYDJ)

3D printing is currently one of the biggest buzzwords in technologically inclined circles. And yet grand format flatbed printers and other printers, it is not in and of itself a new technology, and has been in existence since 1984. The current increase in its popularity is because it is only now becoming accessible to the common consumer. But that is exactly why 3D printing is so important. Consumer-level 3D printing does away with the obstacles or resources associated with the currently prevalent process of creating things. It allows anyone with an idea and a 3D printer to ‘print’ their exact ideas, test them out, create prototypes, or just use them directly. All you need to do is design the blueprint of your idea on your computer, and print it. It is, in a way, bringing about the “democratisation of production”. And in case designing the item is too much work for a consumer, he or she can just download a blueprint for their 3D printer from the internet.

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