Symposium on "Patents, Copyrights and Knowledge Commons"

organised by Kerala State Planning Board, Kerala State IT Mission and Free Software Foundation of India.

Venue: Mascot Hotel, Trivandrum Time: 5:30 PM Date: 6 June 07

Meeting will be open to public.

Programme:

1. "Innovativeness in Property Relations" - Prof Prabhat Patnaik, Vice Chairman, Kerala State Planning Board.

2. "Freeing the Mind : Free Software and the Death of Proprietary Culture" - Prof Eben Moglen, Columbia University.

3. Q & A

About Speakers:

Prof Eben Moglen -------------------------- Eben Moglen is a professor of law and legal history at Columbia University, and is the founder, Director-Counsel and Chairman of Software Freedom Law Center, whose client list includes numerous pro bono clients, such as the Free Software Foundation.

Moglen says that free software is a fundamental requirement for a democratic and free society in which we are surrounded by and dependent upon technical devices. Only if controlling these devices is open to all via free software, can we balance power equally.

Prof Prabhat Patnaik ------------------------------

Prof Prabhat Patnaik is a professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning in the School of Social Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He has written for several journals, such as Monthly Review and Political Affairs. He is the author of several books on economics, imperialism, Marxism and India. He is currently Vice-chairman of the Kerala State Planning Board.