I have followed this debate
re Intellectual Property and Internet for many years. The IP holders (well, at least
the large, commercial IP holders) seem to think that the protection of IP and the
use of the Internet for commercial purposes is the sole raison d'etre of the Internet.Specifically:
Whois
database being publically accessible. I am totally opposed and believe the BPG has
this right. The Internet is used for many purposes much more important than the interests
of the IP constituency, including human rights reporting and whistleblowing. Beyond
this, in many countries there is no requirement for an offline 'publisher' to include
their details on a 'publication', so why on the Internet? Publishers are not law
enforcers - as with filtering issues, I am totally opposed to the privatization of
law enforcement.
As for false contact data, when offline publishers can be prosecuted
for not updating their contact details, then maybe I would be more sympathetic.
Mark
Perkins
ISTF