[Dialogue] {Spam?} Care for Our Archives

[Wayne Nelson]

It¹s a fair question.

We have been operating out of the understanding that the intellectual
property created prior to 1988 belongs to ³all of us.² That developed after
1988 is the intellectual property of each ICA or whoever develops it. A
lawyer would, no doubt, call that wishy washy (who is this ³all of us?). I
don¹t think that speaks directly to the question of ownership, but, it is an
under girding principle. My memory is that this understanding was developed
at or shortly on the heels of our council in Mexico. We worked out a few
protocols like that as part of our organizational individuation process ­
like ICA¹s not going to do work in a country with an ICA organization
without letting them know and trying to involve them.

It seems to me that focusing on legal ownership could take this conversation
into an unhelpful modality. I facilitated a heavy duty negotiation process
between Ontario¹s electrical utility company (quasi government, rich and
huge) and a First Nation (a small, very successful Mohawk community) over
past grievances related to  the installation of a generating station and a
major transmission line. At the very beginning, written into the terms of
reference, was an understanding that we would not involve lawyers, until the
negotiating team developed a consensus. This advice came from the the power
company and was based on their experience in doing this process with many
First Nation communities.

Both parties checked with their lawyers from time to time for advice, but we
did not let the lawyers touch anything until we had a very firm common
understanding. Then we got them to write the agreement up properly. They did
and I translated it back into ordinary language. It worked; in contrast to
many of the land claim processes that involve lawyers in the room from the
beginning that either fail or take more than a decade (no kidding) to
complete. Law and lawyers tend to separate and create oppositional,
adversarial forces.

I don¹t think that is going to get us where we want to go. We¹re consensus
builders. At least that¹s what we tell ourselves, our colleagues and
clients.

\\/

I changed the subject line, because I don¹t think anybody intends to trash
anything, it sounds accusatory and I think ŒCare for Our Archives¹ is closer
to the real question.


"Paula Philbrook"  wrote:

>  
> I have had a question about the ownership of the archives.  Certainly the
> current Board of Directors has possession but does that mean ownerhsip?
>  


< >  < >  < >  < >  < >
Wayne Nelson - ICA Associates Inc
416-691-2316 - http://ica-associates.ca


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