Slashdot Mirror

Unesco Site: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/alexandria_new

MIT Tech Review Article: http://www.technologyreview.com/magazine/apr01/jen kins.asp

From the Tech Review Article:

Later this year, a state-of-the-art research facility opens in Alexandria, transforming legend back into reality. Announcing the project, Egyptian first lady Suzanne Mubarak vowed the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina would be "a digital lighthouse for the world." Many countries are contributing precious archival holdings on microfilm or CD-ROM and returning documents confiscated during wars and occupations.

-roop

For example, I know that someone submitted this link from the MIT Tech Review about the REbuilding of the Library of Alexandria (which was one of the biggest and most impressive geek communites of all time). (project link here)The lessons learned from that Library are very very relevant today in our attempts to build a future civilization.

This obviously goes over the heads of the editors, and gets rejected.

But this stuff, isn't even summarized here, or quoted, just everyone go look at it. And feedback suggests that it is basically a high class troll.

This is no way to build a community.

Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip

The next time you go to Togo's for a hot pastrami remember to ask the people working there how they manage to live in Silicon Valley, where under $40k/year is poor or what their commute is like.

Short, untrue but useful, answer: not much variation in practice. The following are broad answers to give a sense of an answer -- the devil truly lies in the details.

Although the answers below suggest substantial verisimilitude, there are differences from country to country, both in terms of the subject matter and scope of protection available, that make it necessary for individuals to get specific advice for each nation in which protection is sought.

While there are substantial similarities in terms of IP these days, there remain substantial differences in other regards, and this may impact on the generality of the remarks below. Each nation protects different things differently, and sometimes gives different terms of protection for each.

Patents:

In most industrial nations, the term of a utility patent is twenty (20) years from the date of first filing in the first nation in which protection was sought, regardless when the patent issued. This was not the case in the United States until the nineties, before which the term was seventeen (17) years from the date the patent issued. However, the United States now follows the international model.

Copyrights

The well-adhered-to Berne convention requires a minimum term of life of the author plus 50 years. The UCC requires only a minimum term of the life of the author plus 25 years. Signatory nations may have longer terms if they see fit.

However, the European Union, and later, the United States have extended their term for published works to life of the author plus 70 years. Many nations accordingly feel pressure to, and either have or are anticipated to, increase their terms accordingly.

Under various circumstances, other terms may apply. Some nations give different, sometimes fixed, terms for motion pictures, computer software and the like. Your mileage may vary. ENESCO has an excellent page with English language translations of international copyright law for those interested in researching the interstices.

Trademarks

In many industrial nations, including the United States, trademarks or their analogues have potentially indefinite terms -- typically lasting so long as the trademark remains valid, and the trademark owner conforms with applicable registration requirements.

UNESCO World Heritage sites

Hmm, maybe I'll have to scale back the goal a little bit, but I still hope to see a majority of them. Even that will be a challenge, since they keep adding them each year.

Here is the current list Current List.

Genomic (and anti-genomics) Links [To Top]

Mapping the Icelandic Genome. "An Anthropology of the scientific, political, economic, religious, and ethical issues surrounding the deCode Project and its global implications." Contains useful pointers.

Indigenous people's coalition against biopiracy.

The Human Genome Diversity Project as explained by Stanford Professor and posted on the U.N. website.

Various UN reports on the Genome question.

An Outline : Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP) Background.

Cultural Survival has issue 20.2 (sum 1996) dedicated to 'Genes, People, and Property' issues.

The archive for discover magazine. Nov. 1994 issue has a few articles about genome and diversity.

The gene letter. The Nov. 96 issue has an HGDP article.

High school lesson plan for teaching students about the HGDP.

"The Gene Wars: Science, Politics, and the Human Genome." An excellent book review with bibliography and online resources.

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has a Bibliography Page about the HGP.

Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of the HGP.

The Human Genome Diversity Project: Scientific, Social and Ethical Issues .

A list of articles from Native-L mailing list, listing all articles related to HGDP posted to the list.

Six papers given at various genome-related conferences. Topics include:

*"Why Human Genetics is a Social Science"
* "Racism, Eugenics, and the Burdens of History"
* "Scientific and Folk Idea About Heredity"
* "The Spectrum of Human Variation"
* "The Human Germ-Plasm Project: Eugenics in the 1920s and the 1990s."

Native net letter to HGDP scientists.

Pilot Projects for a Human Genome Diversity Project - Special Competition.

Molecular Anthropology Symposium at Stanford.

Seeds of Destruction. A must read for anyone who eats french fries or is concerned with genetically modified crops.

Also see Patents and Jumpstations.

Comics [To Top]

Angels of Health/Medicine Cartoon by Quino. Here is another one of a dis-orderly girl.

Patent$ and Thing$ [To Top]

An Upside article discussing patents and its history. Very informative.

Gene Patents and Bioethics.

6,000 human gene patents sought in BBC News and also the Washington Post.

American Society of Human Genetics Position Paper on Patenting of Expressed Sequence Tags.

of course the list is continually updated, ... hope this helps, bobbaqATyouknowHOO

Genomic (and anti-genomics) Links [To Top]

Mapping the Icelandic Genome. "An Anthropology of the scientific, political, economic, religious, and ethical issues surrounding the deCode Project and its global implications." Contains useful pointers.

Indigenous people's coalition against biopiracy.

The Human Genome Diversity Project as explained by Stanford Professor and posted on the U.N. website.

Various UN reports on the Genome question.

An Outline : Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP) Background.

Cultural Survival has issue 20.2 (sum 1996) dedicated to 'Genes, People, and Property' issues.

The archive for discover magazine. Nov. 1994 issue has a few articles about genome and diversity.

The gene letter. The Nov. 96 issue has an HGDP article.

High school lesson plan for teaching students about the HGDP.

"The Gene Wars: Science, Politics, and the Human Genome." An excellent book review with bibliography and online resources.

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has a Bibliography Page about the HGP.

Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of the HGP.

The Human Genome Diversity Project: Scientific, Social and Ethical Issues .

A list of articles from Native-L mailing list, listing all articles related to HGDP posted to the list.

Six papers given at various genome-related conferences. Topics include:

*"Why Human Genetics is a Social Science"
* "Racism, Eugenics, and the Burdens of History"
* "Scientific and Folk Idea About Heredity"
* "The Spectrum of Human Variation"
* "The Human Germ-Plasm Project: Eugenics in the 1920s and the 1990s."

Native net letter to HGDP scientists.

Pilot Projects for a Human Genome Diversity Project - Special Competition.

Molecular Anthropology Symposium at Stanford.

Seeds of Destruction. A must read for anyone who eats french fries or is concerned with genetically modified crops.

Also see Patents and Jumpstations.

Comics [To Top]

Angels of Health/Medicine Cartoon by Quino. Here is another one of a dis-orderly girl.

Patent$ and Thing$ [To Top]

An Upside article discussing patents and its history. Very informative.

Gene Patents and Bioethics.

6,000 human gene patents sought in BBC News and also the Washington Post.

American Society of Human Genetics Position Paper on Patenting of Expressed Sequence Tags.

of course the list is continually updated, ... hope this helps, bobbaqATyouknowHOO