More than 20% of human genes are patented in the US which, among other things, is preventing people from accessing affordable and appropriate testing and diagnoses of genetic diseases. This is only one example of how restrictive intellectual property legislation is impacting human rights. At the Yale Information Society Project’s conference, of which APC was an organising partner, these issues, which also include the impact on innovation, scientific research, freedom of expression online and education were discussed by civil society and adademia. Watch some video interviews.

Following the impact of Global Information Society Watch 2009 which put the spotlight on “access to knowledge for advancing democracy and human rights”, the University of Yale has invited GISWatch co-publisher APC to co-convene their fourth Access to Knowledge Conference. The conference organised by Yale’s information society project will unite scholars and human rights activists to look at designing laws, policies and technical architectures to promote “social progress across the globe”. Find out more about the conference.