Rami Olwan

The 21st century started with a bang, at least from the perspective of the widespread adoption of information technologies, and market hype for overvalued technology stock. There was a second bang shortly afterwards, when the bubble burst.

Members of Consumers International, the only global campaigning voice for consumers, will come together from around the world to discuss and set an agenda for advocacy on these issues, at the first global summit Consumers in the Information Society: Access, Fairness and Representation" to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 8 and 9 March 2012.

The value of an intellectual property (IP) regime to a developing country (or for that matter a developed country) is the subject of increasing debate. On one side IP evangelists argue that IP laws can stimulate untold innovation and provide a foundation for economic progress. On the other side IP sceptics or abolitionists question whether IP laws really incentivise innovation or simply represent an unforeseen burden on social and economic development.

Creative Commons (CC) is a new way of managing copyright in the digital environment. It is gaining widespread acceptance and use by creators, educators, cultural institutions, researchers, government officers and the general community.