the other side of ip:
informational commons

felix stalder

openflows

felix@openflows.org

http://felix.openflows.org

ict policy training programme

budapest, 21.08.2003

distributors vs. creators

ipr discussion dominated by distributors

record labels, publishing houses, movie studies, etc

their interest: controlling the product in the market for maximum revenues

expansion of ip claims creates many negative side effects, particularly for creators

distributors against creators in the informational economy

material production

characteristics:

linear, one way

material difference between input and output

separation between production and consumption

distributors try to apply this model to digital goods

informational production

characteristics:

feed back, two-way

contextual difference between input and output

production and consumption overlap

new model necessary

information management by creators

creators:

interested in being able to create

access to the means of creation

economic rewards for creation

means of creation:

raw material: other people's works

information management by creators: science

process organized by scientists, to suit their needs

goal: progress of the field, innovation

means: free sharing of products of work within community

publication of results and methodology

critical examination of innovation

learning within community

innovative environment, rich with ideas sparking new ideas

information management by creators: science

long-term process

first journal published in 1665

tremendous innovation, progress

not directly commercial

creation of large, secondary markets

molecular biology -> bio tech industry

information management by creators: science

ownership of work plays limited role

claim of authorship

reputation and indirect rewards

informational resource managed by scientific community

scientists (producers, reviewer, users)

administrational infrastructure (environment for producers)

alternative to IP regime: commons

science is a not a market but a commons

commons: "resource used and managed by community rather than by individual owners."

traditional physical commons:

air, oceans: free to use, managed by community

common pasture. all members can use it within bounds of community rules

informational commons

community based development and management of information resource

commons on the internet

software

source code: written and read by programmers

binary code: read and executed by computers

proprietary software:

only binary code is distributed

use but don't understand

open source software

binary and source code are distributed

changing and redistribution allowed

open source software

like science

organized by producers

focus on progress of the field, innovation

peer review to examine new information

free access to raw material of production, i.e. other people's work

not directly commercial

creation of secondary markets (services)

internet as commons

internet: created by and for programmers

created in the early 1970s, commercial since mid 1990s

ease of sharing information central

too large a task for anyone to do it alone

community centered development

free/inexpensive means of communication makes it easier to share information

creates new needs to manage information

internet as commons

many central technologies of the internet are open source software

email (sendmail)

web servers (apache)

web pages ('view source')

operating systems (linux)

internet both enabling condition and effect of open source

feedback, two-way production process

informational commons beyond software

growth of oss serves as an example/inspiration for further social innovation

open content

free encyclopedia: http://www.wikipedia.org

open law

free database with legal arguments compiled by faculty and students in the US

open science

genetic code: published on the internet

open access journals

commons

strength of commons

open to talent, low barrier of entry

decentralized, sensitive to local needs

oss interfaces translated in many languages

focus on innovation

no "me-too" products

free access to products

low overhead

less need for lawyers

creation of secondary markets (Red Hat, IBM)

commons

weaknesses of commons

no primary markets

funding?

low degree of organization

no legal entity

no lobbying

temporal?

relatively unknown concept

we don't know what we destroy

policy areas relevant to informational commons, 1/3

communication

means of communication must be uncensored and inexpensive

bridging of digital divide

free access to internet

preservation of communication space for non-commercial use (spectrum).

policy areas relevant to informational commons, 2/3

content

content must be available with as little restrictions as possible

limitation of IPR claims (direct conflict with distributors)

publication of content under open licenses

policy areas relevant to informational commons, 3/3

community

internet literacy

encouragement of local communities, via universities, contracts and other means

interconnection of communities

practical steps 1/2

demand government to seriously consider open source software solutions

often cheaper or cost neutral

vendor independent: more flexibility

better interoperability thanks to open standards

support of a local IT industry

practical steps 2/2

pressure government to publish information under open licenses

ensure that access remains open

facilitates development of secondary services

example: GPS (global positioning system) data is freely available, entire industries develop technology and services based on this data.

central argument

all creation needs access to raw material, it never happens in thin air

informational creation: raw material often other people's products

the flipside of expansion of ip is a reduction in raw material available creators

particularly for those outside large corporations

excessive ip creates barriers for market entry

historically, developing nations always had limited ip protection

central argument

without a robust informational commons -- which is being destroyed by an excessive ip regime -- our only role in the information society is that of consumers with "choice" but no rights.

2003-08-19T11:57:29