Information and communication technology (ICT) projects are helping countries make significant progress towards the globally agreed anti-poverty targets world leaders have pledged to achieve by 2015, according to a United Nations report released today. For the first time, the 2010 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Stocktaking report – now in its third edition – takes into account the use of social networking services. “This report charts significant progress...

Multinational companies will now find it very difficult to patent products made by using Indian traditional knowledge of science. The Indian government has digitized all traditional knowledge of medicine available in India and has shared it with the US President and United States patents office so that nobody benefits unduly by using Indian knowledge and files for patents on such products. "We call it traditional knowledge in a digital library," said Minister...

A full decade ago, Chandrababu Naidu made a point about the quick issuance of driving licences, and easy digital access to land records and house tax calculations — which he showcased to Bill Clinton when the then US president came visiting. Since then, all of Karnataka has digitised its land records through the Bhoomi project that now has a database on 20 million land holdings. Other states have similar projects....

The head of the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) today wrapped up a five-day visit to India, during which a major focus of discussions was protecting traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore. Director General Francis Gurry lauded India as a “pioneer” in dealing with questions related to these three issues, according to a news release issued by the Geneva-based agency. In particular, he highlighted the publicly available Traditional...

The current contraction in global economic growth offers an opportunity to re-assess what will foster economic resurgence.  The sustained growth of India’s IT sector is a further example of what can be achieved through strategic use of IP A strong commitment to strengthening its IP capacity will help India unleash the full potential of its people The Indian government has declared a decade of innovation, emphasising the importance of innovation...