Kristine Gloria: All Related Content

To protect the national heritage of a country and to promote cultural expression—it sounds like a daunting and impossible task.

Recent policy discussions, technological advancements, and transnational discussions beg for some sort of authoritative viewpoint on how to go about doing this. From European opposition to the latest draft of the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA) to threats of Quran burning in a Gainesville, Fla., church, the intersection of culture and public policy is ripe with unanswered questions.

“The advent of the digital world has revolutionized how the public obtains its information.” How many times have you read some variation of this statement? General consensus assumes this observation to be fact. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the battle over equal access to and diversity of information graces mainstream headlines quite frequently—from the Wall Street Journal’s recent coverage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act exemptionsto a San Francisco Chronicle article entitled “Demolition of Berkeley branch libraries fought.” And, in the influx of information-related news, an unassuming institution is emerging as a key driver in the conversation: the library.

What does intellectual property mean in the twenty-first century? 

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), intellectual property "refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce."

There are some occasions in DC that find others importing or manufacturing celebrities to make wonky Washington seem a bit trendier, but most of the time, the District is pretty comfortable with being relatively un-hip. For policy wonks and tech-savvy media mavens alike, though, this week might prove that there are some areas in which DC is, in fact, a cutting edge kind of city.

The event that has us blocking off our calendars is Digital Capital (DC) Week, a festival that kicked off on Friday to bring together members from the social media, public policy, traditional media and government sectors.