The Battle for Knowledge: Open Access, Copyright, and the Global South
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Science and Technology (Intellectual Property Rights - Copyright); International Relations (Global North/South divide, UNESCO); Current events.
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Health, Education, Governance): Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
General Studies Paper 3 (S&T, Economy): Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life; Issues relating to intellectual property rights.
General Studies Paper 4 (Ethics): Ethical dimensions of knowledge sharing and corporate practices.
Key Highlights from the News
The ban by the Delhi High Court on websites like Sci-Hub and Libgen, which provide scientific papers for free, has sparked major discussions about the right to access knowledge.
Prominent international publishers filed cases against these websites, citing copyright infringement.
However, the article argues that the practice of major publishers selling the results of publicly funded research at exorbitant prices (paywalls) is a form of exploitation, turning knowledge into a luxury commodity.
This situation disproportionately affects students and researchers in Global South (developing) countries like India.
The author states that scientific knowledge should not be considered private property, but rather a knowledge as a commons, and should be made accessible to everyone.
The article also criticizes the existing Global North - Global South (division between developed and developing countries) divide in the research landscape.
The article alleges that despite international efforts like UNESCO's open science framework, scientific knowledge remains under corporate control.
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