“Info-Communism:” An Interesting Event

by Jim Harper on January 25, 2010 · Comments

This looks like a good one to me. An ITIF event tomorrow called “Info-Communism:” A Progressive Path Forward or a Political and Intellectual Dead End?

Overheated rhetoric around information policy and intellectual property damages the quality of the debate. In this paper, featured speaker and Syracuse University information studies professor Milton Mueller warns against pouring these debates into old ideological molds. Doing so preserves controversy rather than fostering the discovery of common ground. (Or “commons” ground—couldn’t help it!)

I don’t know that this forum will solve the problem, but I know it will be interesting. The sign-up page indicates that the event will be streamed.

Comments Posted in: Copyright, Open Source, Open Standards & Peer Production, Patents

PFF Event: ICANN & Internet Governance: How Did We Get Here & Where Are We Heading?

by Berin Szoka on September 15, 2009 · Comments

PFF Adjunct Fellow Mike Palage led this extraordinary discussion of ICANN’s origins, evolution and future with four of ICANN’s “Founding Fathers”: Milton Mueller (author of Ruling the Root), law professor David Johnson, ICANN’s first CEO Mike Roberts and then ICANN CEO Paul Twomey. In particular, the group discussed ICANN’s mission, governance structure, and accountability; the difficult issue of new generic Top Level Domain names (gTLDs) and trademark concerns; and ICANN’s future relationship with the U.S. government. Be sure to check out the handy ICANN Glossary on page 33. The audio can be downloaded here.

Here’s the transcript (PDF):

Continue reading →

Comments Posted in: Inside the Beltway (Politics), Internet Governance & ICANN, Podcast, Trademark