Liberty Institute cordially invites you to a workshop on

Why India Needs Intellectual Property Protection
Chaired by Bibek Debroy

Date: October 11, 2001

Venue: Amaltus, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi

9.15-9.30 am : Registration
9.30-11.15 am : Intellectual Property in India's Interest
Inaugural lecture - Dr. R. A. Mashelkar
Panelists -- Bibek Debroy, Julian Morris, Dr. Anup Pujari
Release of Ideal Matter: Globalisation and the Intellectual Property Debate, by Julian Morris, Rosalind Mowatt and W. Duncan Reekie
11.15-11.30 am : Tea
11.30- 1.00 pm : Session II - The role of patents
Praveen Anand, Bimal Raizada, Krishna Sharma*, Dr. K.R.G. Nair
1.00-2.00 pm : Lunch
2.00-3.30 pm : Session III - The changing perception of IP
Dr. Anil Gupta, Dr. Gurumurti Natarajan, Dr. K.R.G. Nair, Prof. Ramesh Bahl*, Dr. P.D. Kaushik
Chaired by Julian Morris
3.30-3.45 pm : Tea
3.45-4.30 pm : Q & A and Concluding Remarks

Space is limited, kindly confirm your participation by telephone, fax or email.
* Awaiting confirmation

The popular discourse over intellectual property rights has been very shrill. This is surprising in view of the fact that almost everyone recognises that the information revolution has ushered in the knowledge society. And if knowledge is the principal form of capital of today, then that knowledge base has to be protected, nurtured and allowed to grow. The purpose of this workshop is to discuss the philosophic, legal and economic aspects of intellectual property, and highlight the validity of IPR as an instrument in promoting the development of knowledge. With the arrival of knowledge society the significance of IP will only grow, and this workshop will strive to expose some of the misconceptions surrounding this issue.

Liberty Institute is a public policy research organisation, dedicated to promoting awareness of the institutional pillars of free society - individual rights, rule of law, limited government and free market. The Institute believes in the symbiotic relationship between political and economic freedom, and seeks to highlight the fact that one cannot be preserved without the other. For more information about the Institute, please visit our website, www.libertyindia.org.