Monday, May 07, 2007

Take it with a pinch of Turmeric©

Knowledge in ancient India was protected by ... not legal or economic ones. The term “intellectual property” was an oxymoron: the intellect could not be anybody’s property. ... Perhaps it is for this reason that Indians do not feel obligated to pay for knowledge. Pirated copies of my book are openly sold on the Bombay streets, for a fourth of its official price.

-Suketu Mehta

On patent laws and heritage wisdom, this makes a good read.

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