EVERY FORT CAN BE BREACHED

Still from the film 'Independence Day'

(Summary: This post explains  policy issues and emerging trends in field of Cyber Laws.

It was delivered delivered by Justice Yatindra Singh, Judge Allahabd High Court, on 'Cyber Law: Policy Issues & Emerging Trends' at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University on Lucknow 27.03.2010. 

A pdf format of the talk can be downloaded from here) .

CONDOLENCE - JUSTICE DR AZAD

{Full court condolence meeting in the Chief Justice's court on 16.04.2010 at 03:45 pm to mourn the sad demise of late Justice Dasu Ram Azad.

Court tenure 13.4.2009 - 10.4.2010)

THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE

Protection of Computer Software, Open Source and Copyright

From Wikipedia

{Summary: The paper explains how computer software is protected and the relationship between open source software and copyright.

It is text of the talk delivered by Justice Yatindra Singh (Judge, Allahabad High Court, email: ysingh@allahabadhighcourt.in) in the seminar 'Intellectual Property Rights & Open Source Software - Issues & Challenges' organised by Centre for Intellectual Property Rights & NRCFOSS/ AU-KBC Research Centre Anna University Chennai at Srinivasa Ramanujan Hall, Mathematics Department, Anna University Chennai (Main Campus) Guindy, on 3rd March 2010.

A pdf fromat of this article can be downloaded from here.}

I had occasion to interact with NRC FOSS Academia in different conferences; I was also a part of the conference organised by them at Moti Lal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad: I am happy to have met them.

When my programme was finalised, I checked up the home page of Anna University where NRC FOSS is situated. To my surprise and happiness, I found that it has numerous patents in its name. These patents are not only process, but product patents too. This could not have happened without help from the cell for IPR at the University. These patents are in diverse fields. All of them are good but the ones that I liked most are in the field of environment and helping the physically challenged. After all we have not inherited mother earth from our parents but have borrowed it from our children. It is our duty to return it in good condition to them and the physically challenged require our maximum attention.

BEGINNING AND END OF PRIVACY

Evolving Strategies for the Enforcement of Cyber Laws

The storming of the Bastille from Wikipedia

( Text of talk delivered by JusticeYatindra Singh, Judge High Court, on 'Launching of Cyber Law Enforcement Programme, National Consultation Meeting' at AP Shinde Hall NASC complex New Delhi on 31.01.2010. 
A pdf format of the article may be downloaded from here.)

With due apologies to Charles Dickens, it is the time when boundaries are zealously guarded: it is the time that boundaries have become meaningless; it is the age of reality: it is the age of virtuality; it is the beginning of privacy: it is the end of privacy. This paradox not only shows the difficulty in enforcing cyber laws but also explains the genesis of cyber crimes. People are emboldened to commit a cyber crime because they mistakenly assume that they are anonymous but nothing can be farther than this. There is nothing private in the cyber space: it is the end of privacy.

GODS ARE DREAMS OF MEN: The Story of Darwin, Creationism, Evolution and Law Courts

Charles Darwin 1809-1882 

(This is the text of talk delivered by Justice Yatindra Singh, Judge Allahabad High Court, in the inaugural function of Zoological Society University of Allahabad in DR Bhattacharya auditorium, Nehru science centre on 31st October 2009. Summary: It is a tribute to Charles Darwin on his bicentennial birth anniversary and 150th year since publication of 'On the Origin of Species'. It talks about his life, origin of species, objections of the creationists, and the cases banning teaching of 'Origin of Species' or requiring the schools to teach creationism/ artificial intelligence. Click here to download the pdf format of the article.)

SHARPENING THE AXE

Allahabad High Court - picture from the centenary volume

(Paper with some suggestions circulated by Justice Yatindra Singh, Judge Allahabd High Court for reducing pendency at the High court level in the 'National Consultation for Strengthening the Judiciary Towards Reducing Pendency', organised by Department of Justice, Government of India and the Indian Law Institute on 24, 25th October 2009, at New Delhi.
Click here to download the article in the pdf format.)

 Abraham Lincoln once said,

'If you have eight hours to chop down a tree then spend six hours sharpening the axe.'

It is good that we are sharpening our axe today. Arrears cannot be reduced unless we set a goal, have a plan, and work according to that plan. Here are some suggestions.

GOOD SEED, MAKES A GOOD CROP

{Summary: This paper explains moral and legal implications of open format and suggests ways to implement it.

This text of Talk was to be delivered by Justice Yatindra Singh on August 26, 2009 in the Third International Open Document Format User Workshop organised by SERPRO (Federal Service for Data Processing - Ministry of Finance, Brazil) and Caixa Econômica Federal in collaboration with the OpenDocument Format Alliance (ODF Alliance), at Brasilia, Brazil. However due to unavoidable circumstances, he could not participate in the workshop but this text was sent for circulation.

To read it in Portuguese (titled as 'Uma Boa Semente Faz Uma Boa Colheita') in pdf format - click here}

If there is any country that I wanted to visit in 2009, it is Brazil. And there is a reason for the same.

Charles Darwin in 1881

About 175 years ago, on 27th Dec 1831, HMS Beagle started its second voyage. Aboard was a naturalist, born on 12th Feb 1809. The first important stop of Beagle was at Bahia, a north eastern part of Brazil. The naturalist was struck by the beauty of the Brazilian forests. In 1939, he published his memoirs—'The Voyage of the Beagle'. He wrote, 

'BAHIA, OR SAN SALVADOR. BRAZIL, 29thFeb.—The day has past delightfully. Delight itself, however, is a weak term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered by himself in a Brazilian forest. The elegance of the grasses, the novelty of the parasitical plants, the beauty of the flowers, the glossy green of the foliage, but above all the general luxuriance of the vegetation, filled me with admiration. A most paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the shady parts of the wood. The noise from the insects is so loud, that it may be heard even in a vessel anchored several hundred yards from the shore; yet within the recesses of the forest a universal silence appears to reign. To a person fond of natural history, such a day as this brings with it a deeper pleasure than he can ever hope to experience again.'

So much awe-stricken was he, that he started his own journey: a journey that changed the World; changed our thinking how we came about. The young naturalist was Charles Robert Darwin, one of the greatest scientist of all times. And irrespective of faith, his theory on 'The Origin of Species' changed perception of our origin. The World over, this year is being celebrated as his bi-centenary birth year. It is for this reason that I wanted to be in Brazil, to see the beauty of the country that inspired him to take that extraordinary journey.

Thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to be in Brazil in this memorable year.