I would like to endorse Robin Gross. She has done a nice job
advancing consumer interests.
Manon
On Apr 10, 2006, at 7:16 PM, Robin Gross wrote:
Dear colleagues,
I have nominated myself for consideration by the WSIS-Internet
Governance Caucus as a candidate to the IGF-MAG.
I would warmly welcome an endorsement from the WSIS Human Rights
Caucus if appropriate.
Below is my candidacy statement. Thank you for your consideration.
Robin
-------------------
Candidate Name: Robin D. Gross
Name of Nominator: Robin Gross (self-nomination)
Nationality: US citizen
Country of Residence: United States (San Francisco)
Gender: Female
BIO:
ROBIN D. GROSS is an attorney in San Francisco, California. She is
the Founder and Executive Directive of IP JUSTICE an international
civil liberties organization that promotes balanced intellectual
property law and protects freedom of expression (www.ipjustice.org).
Ms. Gross advises policy makers throughout the world on the impact
of intellectual property rules in national legislatures,
international treaties, and trade agreements.
Ms. Gross teaches international copyright law at Santa Clara
University, where she also serves as a member of the Santa Clara
University School of Law High Technology Legal Advisory Board. Ms.
Gross regularly lectures at international seminars, law schools, and
universities on cyberspace legal issues including digital copyright,
fair use, and other Internet legal issues.
Ms. Gross is a Council Member of the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Generic Names Supporting
Organization (GNSO) Policy Council, representing the Non-Commercial
Users Constituency (NCUC).
Ms. Gross was selected by WSIS Civil Society to speak before the
WSIS General Assembly in Tunis in 2005 and she chaired two parallel
events at the Tunis Summit. She also spoke at the 2003 WSIS Summit
in Geneva at a parallel event organized by the Heinrich Boell
Foundation on communication rights and human rights. Ms. Gross is a
participant of the WSIS Patent, Copyright, and Trademarks (PCT)
Working Group and the WSIS Human Rights Caucus.
She sits on the Board of Directors for the Union for the Public
Domain, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. that is
dedicated to protecting the public domain (www.public-domain.org).
And she is on the Advisory Boards of Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility-Peru (CPSR-Peru) and of FreeMuse, an
international organization based in Copenhagen that advocates
freedom of expression for musicians and composers worldwide
(www.freemuse.org).
In July 2004 Managing Intellectual Property Magazine named Ms. Gross
as one of “2004’s Top 50 Most Influential People in Intellectual
Property in the World.” She testified before the US Copyright Office
during the 2003 and 2000 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
Rulemaking Hearings. California’s legal newspaper The Daily Journal
selected Ms. Gross as one of “California’s Top Ten Most Influential
Attorneys in 2001”. She has appeared as a guest legal expert on TV
and radio news stations including CNN, BBC, NPR, PRI, Tech TV, NHK,
DRS, VOA, and CBC. Ms. Gross has been quoted in the New York Times,
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Business Week,
Wired News, Associated Press, Reuters, Financial Times, Billboard
and other media outlets.
Before founding IP JUSTICE in 2002, Ms. Gross was the first Staff
Attorney for Intellectual Property with cyber-liberties organization
the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), where she began the
group’s campaign in intellectual property issues in 1999 (www.eff.org).
A graduate of Santa Clara University’s High Technology Law Program,
Ms. Gross is licensed to practice law in California. In 1997 she
co-founded VIRTUAL RECORDINGS one of the first digital music
websites with her musician husband. A Michigan native, she graduated
from Michigan State University’s James Madison College in 1995 with
degrees in political philosophy and international relations.
WHY I AM A GOOD CHOICE:
I have been working to protect digital rights since 1999 and have
developed a fundamental understanding of the key policy and
technical issues in the online world.
If selected, I would work towards ensuring that the Internet
Governance Forum provides greater protection for traditional civil
liberties – particularly freedom of expression, privacy, and user
rights regarding digital media.
I have been an active participant of both phases of the World Summit
of the Information Society (WSIS). At the 2005 WSIS General Assembly
in Tunis, I was the only speaker to advocate for reform of
over-zealous intellectual property rules that threaten traditional
civil liberties on the Internet. Also during the Tunis Summit, I
chaired two parallel events on the topic of reform of international
IP regimes and on the topic of the social and legal issues
surrounding P2P file-sharing and e-Democracy. At the Geneva 2003
Summit, I spoke at a WSIS parallel event to argue that communication
rights are human rights in an information society. I also provided
substantive comment in 2005 to members of the Working Group for
Internet Governance (WGIG) who were responsible for drafting papers
on intellectual property issues. In March 2006 I submitted a
substantive agenda recommendation to the IGF that advocated for IGF
attention to freedom of expression, privacy, and other civil
liberties. I am a participant of the WSIS Patents, Copyrights, and
Trademarks (PCT) Working Group and the WSIS Human Rights Caucus.
My experience at ICANN has led me to believe that we need serious
reform with respect to Internet governance. The lack of a meaningful
diversity of views at ICANN, particularly the lack of opportunity
for participation from developing countries and from those who do
not represent a particular commercial interest is very troubling. It
is my hope that IGF can be a forum to push for real reform of
Internet governance issues that is more in line with the global
public interest, inclusive, and respectful of civil liberties.
My non-profit organization IP Justice is accredited as a “Permanent
Observer” at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and
I participate at WIPO meetings in Geneva approximately 7-8 times per
year. In July 2005, I organized a “Group NGO Statement” that was
signed on to by 138 public-interest NGOs from all corners of the
world to support developing countries’ proposal for a “Development
Agenda” and call for substantive reform at WIPO.
For seven years, I have advised international policy makers about
the civil liberties implications of proposed or existing IP laws or
other rules and technologies that impact digital freedom. I would be
able to attend IGF meetings in Geneva and Athens and participate on
IGF mailing lists.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can provide any further
information. Thank you.
Robin Gross
--
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************************************************
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org
Consumer Project on Technology
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.: +1.202.332.2670, Ext 16 Fax: +1.202.332.2673
Consumer Project on Technology
1 Route des Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 6727
Consumer Project on Technology
24 Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX, UK
Tel: +44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252 Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607
--
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