Readings: Non-Governmental Politics / Nongovernmental Generation of International Treaties

This article speaks to access to knowledge issues, intellectual property rights, and the role of the UN in promoting/regulating these fields. It also goes on to describe the entanglement of political ideology with opinions on intellectual property rights.

These are important dialogues to have, especially in an increasingly informational world where small ideas can transform societies. Good questions to ask are: why do we need international regulation of intellectual property issues? Who would write these treaties and who would the regulations best serve? Is the notion of "property rights" a universal value?

These are questions that I had for myself, and I am glad that the author addressed our emotional relationship to property rights issues. This pushes people to think of their basic motives in establishing regulated global intellectual property rights, whether these motives are profit, power, or philosophically oriented.