www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

After being given an important new role by the rice-producing nations of
Asia to support the free flow of rice research and knowledge, the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has announced an important
change in its copyright policy, October 2006.

Taking a leaf out of the software industry's book, the Philippines-based
Institute has announced that it will change its information copyright policy
from the original "all rights reserved." Effectively echoing the software
industry's open-source movement, others will now be able to use IRRI's
intellectual property provided they do not place restrictions on its use by
anyone else.

The practical change will not be great--IRRI previously offered relatively
free use of its information to other parties. The major difference now is
that users need not ask permission. The change is also symbolic,
representing the Institute's goal of promoting the free exchange of ideas
and information.

IRRI's decision follows the release of the Delhi Declaration on Rice by the
Ministerial Roundtable at the International Rice Congress (IRC) in Delhi
(9-13 October), wherein the Institute was asked to "host a task force ? to
prepare a road map" that would help achieve the main objectives of the
declaration, which include a plan "to establish a comprehensive partnership
among the participants through strengthened dialogue on a regular basis for
strengthening rice research and development efforts."

"We were already preparing to change our copyright policy when the
Ministerial Roundtable asked us to host the task force and facilitate the
continued exchange of rice research and information in Asia--we're honored
to be asked to play such an important role," IRRI Director General Robert S.
Zeigler said. "Both decisions also fit very well with goal four of IRRI's
new Strategic Plan, Bringing Hope, Improving Lives, to provide equitable
access to information and knowledge on rice and help develop the next
generation of rice scientists."

Announcing the new Strategic Plan at the opening of the IRC on 9 October,
Dr. Zeigler said: "Asia needs to invest more in agriculture, and especially
agricultural and rice research. Without new ideas and technologies, each
country's rice industry will stagnate and hold back the rest of the
country."

The full text of the Delhi Declaration follows, while IRRI's new Strategic
Plan can be downloaded from the Web at
www.irri.org/BringingHope/ImprovingLives.pdf.

The Delhi declaration on rice

Confirming the spirit of the Beijing Declaration on rice issued after the
First International Rice Congress held in China on Sunday, 15 September
2002, and

Confirming our commitment to intellectual property rights as per the World
Trade Organization's stipulations and provisions, including indigenously
developed and improved varieties of rice;

Stressing the strategic importance of the Asian nations in the production of
rice and moved by the will to give their future thrusts a new dimension,
based on comprehensive cooperation, in keeping with the privileged nature of
the links forged by neighborhood and history;

Aware that farmers are facing the challenge of producing more rice at less
cost in a deteriorating environment and rice research and development needs
to address the Millennium Development Goals on poverty alleviation, food and
nutritional security, and environmental conservation in a partnership mode;
Resolve to establish to that end a multilateral framework based on a spirit
of partnership; Regarding this multilateral framework as the counterpart to
a strengthening of bilateral relations which it is important to safeguard,
while stressing their specific nature; Stressing that this initiative is not
intended to replace the other activities and initiatives undertaken in the
interests of the peace, prosperity, stability, and development of the
region, but that it will contribute to their success; Hereby agree to
establish a comprehensive partnership among the participants through
strengthened dialogue on a regular basis for strengthening rice research and
development efforts laying greater emphasis on the social, cultural, and
human dimensions and that the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
would host a task force comprising experts from all the countries and
centers of excellence in the area to prepare a road map for the purpose.

_________

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world's leading rice
research and training center. Based in the Philippines and with offices in
10 other Asian countries, it is an autonomous, nonprofit institution focused
on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice
farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preserving
natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of
public and private donor agencies. Please visit the CGIAR website
(www.cgiar.org) for more information.

Web sites:

IRRI Home (www.irri.org),

IRRI Library (http://ricelib.irri.org),

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