The Hindu Business Line : `Sound legal framework must to face Flat World phenomenon'

Mr Nandan Nilekani, CEO, President and MD, Infosys Technologies, and Ms Amy Lynne Williams, CLA President, at the 2nd International Asian Conference in Bangalore on Wednesday. — G.R.N. Somashekar

Bangalore , Feb. 1

INFOSYS Technologies' President and Managing Director, Mr Nandan Nilekani, said on Wednesday that there was need to have a sound legal framework to address the concerns and challenges thrown up by the `flat world' phenomenon.

Mr Nilekani was delivering the keynote address at the inaugural function of the Computer Law Association (CLA)'s second International Asian Conference on "Growing Technology Companies in a Flat World" here.

The now famous `flat world' is what Mr Thomas Friedman, renowned journalist, calls the increasing levelling-off of competition and capabilities across the world.

Mr Nilekani felt that the flattening of the world has created a unique scenario wherein the businesses are facing challenges in terms of striking balance between abundance and scarcity. Technology is becoming increasingly available, affordable, fast and cheap whereas the spectrum and talent were becoming scarce commodities, he said.

Pointing out that emergence of new technologies had turned things which were once scarce, into abundance, resulting in revenue losses to those companies which were dealing with the scarce products, Mr Nilekani said to overcome this sudden change, there was a need to observe the structural changes witnessed worldwide in the areas of technologies.

The President of the CLA, Ms Amy-Lynne Williams, said the two-day conference would throw more light on a wide range of topics, including protecting Intellectual Property, data and privacy in outsourced world, technology controlling and protection of IP and IP legal issues in India and abroad. It would also focus on contentious issues in outsourcing contracts, arbitration of international technology disputes and emerging legal issues in the protection of software.

Speaking on recent developments in IP law in India, Mr Pravin Anand of Anand & Anand, said though the patent filing has increased in India by over 400 per cent in the past 15 years, the grants have remained static. Pharmaceutical companies topped the corporates in terms of the number of patents filed in India and not the IT firms, he said, adding companies such as Infosys and the Wipro should take a lead in filing patents.