|
Guest
Editors:
Acrobat Reader is required to display PDF files |
|
Open Knowledge
Guest
Editors: Philippe Aigrain and
Jesús
M. González-Barahona
Presentation
Ownership and Terms of
Use for Intangibles. Land Grab or Commons?
[HTML]
[PDF: 3 pages, 717 KB]
(includes a list of Useful
References for those interested in knowing more about issues
related
to "Open Knowledge").
Philippe Aigrain and
Jesús M. González-Barahona - Guest Editors
Abstract: The guest
editors present the issue, where they have offered the floor to a very
diverse set of contributors, united by the effort to understand and
promote
information-based commons and convinced that a prosperous and more
human
economy can develop on its basis. They also provide a list of useful
references for those interested in knowing more about this subject.
The Political
Economy
of Commons [PDF: 4 pages, 667 KB]
Yochai Benkler
Abstract: The paper
defines the institutional and normative characteristic of commons, and
explains why they are sustainable under many circumstances. It explains
why maintaining a core common infrastructure in resources necessary for
information production and exchange throughout the information
environment
is important both for democracy and for individual freedom. It
concludes
by outlining a series of practical policy actions necessary to build
such
a core common infrastructure.
The Rediscovery of
the
Commons [PDF: 3 pages, 678 KB]
David Bollier
Abstract: The
prevailing
discourse for talking about the Internet is that of the market. But
economic
categories are too parochial for understanding our broader needs as
citizens
and human beings in the emerging cyber-polity. They also fail to
understand
how many websites, listservs, open source software programs and
peer-to-peer
file sharing systems function as commons – open, community-based
systems
for sharing and managing resources. It turns out that peer production
is
often a more efficient, creative mode of value-creation than a market
as
well as more humanistic. The commons paradigm helps us understand this
fact because it recognizes that value-creation is not just an episodic
economic transaction, as market theory holds, but an ongoing process of
social life and political culture. When will we recognize that the
commons
plays a vital role in the economic and cultural production of our time?
Language in the
Digital
Media: A Political Challenge [PDF: 3
pages,
623 KB]
José-Antonio
Millán
Abstract: The
common
good which is a language becomes a marketable commodity once we move
into
the digital media. However, there is no reason why speakers of
languages
other than English, or speakers of minority languages or of minority
variants
of widely used languages, should not be able to benefit from the many
advantages
the use of a language in the digital media can bring: spoken
interfaces,
translation aids, etc. This article proposes language policy measures
which
will enable existing research (much of which has been financed by
public
funds) to be developed into programmes which serve society’s needs
without
increasing its technological dependence.
Notice: In the PDFs containing the full issue, the following information is unintentionally missing for this article of José-Antonio Millán: "License: Licencia 20 min".
A Note on Software
Patents
[PDF:
1 pages, 551 KB]
Pierre Haren
Abstract: A set of
brief notes with his opinions on software patents is offered by the
author.
On the Patentability
of
Inventions Involving Computer Programmes [PDF:
4 pages, 677 KB]
Alberto Bercovitz
Rodríguez-Cano
Abstract: The
Proposal
for a European Directive on the Patentability of Computer Implemented
Inventions
yields to a change of the European legislation on patents and of the
legal
protection of computer programs. In this address, given in the European
Parliament on November 2002, this proposal is analysed from a legal
point
of view. More specifically the particularities of copyright law and
patent
law are shown when applied to software, as well as the consequences
that
the Directive might have from this standpoint.
Legal Tools to
Protect
Software: Choosing the Right One [PDF:
3
pages, 673 KB]
Roberto Di Cosmo
Abstract: This
article
investigates the relative merits of the different legal tools available
to protect software, in the very moment when the European Community
considers
changing its public policy on these issues. We offer a few clear
arguments
on the impact that the different legal tools have on software
development
and innovation, and urge the readers to form their own opinion.
Petition to the
European
Parliament on the Proposal for a Directive on the Patentability of
Computer-implemented
Inventions [PDF: 2 pages, 558 KB]
Several European
Computer
Scientists
Abstract: Petition
written by several prestigious European computer scientists and
engineers,
related to the proposed Directive on software patents currently being
discussed
at the European Parliament.
The Right to Read [PDF:
3 pages, 667 KB]
Richard Stallman
Abstract: In this
short fiction story, 45 years ahead, the author describes a frightening
prospect. By extrapolating from some current trends, he shows a future
where access to information is tightly controlled, and the so called
“trusted
computing” is fully deployed. He also provides some hints on how the
first
steps towards this future are being taken today. Although this story
was
first published more than five years ago, it sounds even more familiar
these days.
Please, Pirate My
Songs!
[PDF:
3 pages, 663 KB]
Ignacio Escolar
Abstract: A
musician
explains how he’d rather wish his group’s songs were heard by as many
people
as possible, in whatever way, than for there to be a strict control to
stop people making illegal copies of them.
The EUCD and the
DMCA
in 2003: How Legal Protection for Technological Measures is shaping
Consumers’
and Copyright Owners’ Digital Rights [PDF:
3 pages, 679 KB]
Gwen Hinze
Abstract: The
European
Copyright Directive (EUCD) requires European Union Member States to
pass
legislation to protect technological measures used by copyright owners
to control access to copyrighted works. Many EU Member States are
currently
considering draft implementation legislation. This note reviews the
United
States’ experience under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
and
contends that Member States’ implementation legislation should include
exceptions permitting circumvention for lawful uses and socially
valuable
activities. It also analyses a new technological protection regime
contemplated
by the 2003 draft EU Directive on enforcement of Intellectual Property
Rights.
Notice: In the PDFs containing the full issue, the following information is unintentionally missing for this article of Gwen Hinze: "License: Creative Commons - Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0".
‘Trusted Computing’
and
Competition Policy – Issues for Computing Professionals The Take-off of
Online Public Services in Europe [PDF:
4 pages, 804 KB]
Ross Anderson
Abstract: The most
significant strategic development in information technology over the
past
year has been ‘Trusted Computing’ (TC). In this paper, the author gives
an outline of TC, and sketch some of the possible effects on the
computing
business and the people who work in it.
Software
Patentability
and CEPIS [PDF: 3 pages, 556 KB]
Upgrade Editor’s
Contribution
Abstract: The
Editor
of Upgrade introduces and publishes the positions on software patents
put
forward by two CEPIS member societies – GI, Germany, and ATI, Spain.
Philippe Aigrain
is in the process of setting up the Society for Public Information
Spaces,
a venture developing free software tools and services for the public
debate
on complex technical issues. From 1996 to April 2003, he worked for the
European Commission R&D funding programmes in which he was
responsible
for free/open source software, and of the interface between information
society development and copyright and patent regulation. He was trained
as a mathematician and computer scientist. From 1983 to 1996 he led
research
teams in the field of media analysis and interaction (video, music,
photography).
He is the author of more than 70 technical papers and many papers on the
history, sociology and
economy
of information exchanges. <philippe.aigrain@wanadoo.fr>
Jesús M. González-Barahona is professor in Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid (Spain). His research area is related to distributed systems and high scale peer-to-peer computing. He is also interested in free and open source software engineering. Since 1991 he has been in touch with libre (free, open source) software. Currently he collaborates with several libre software projects (including Debian), collaborates with associations like Hispalinux and EuroLinux, writes in several media about topics related to libre software, and consults for companies on topics related to their strategy on these issues. He is member of ATI and editor of the Free Software section of Novática. <jgb@gsyc.escet.urjc.es>
1 Introduction
During the past decades
two
different, and contradictory, processes have emerged in the field of
the
creation and dissemination of knowledge and information. On one side,
the
new information technologies (currently being embedded in Internet)
allow
for the virtually zero-cost transmission of large amounts of
information,
and give practically anyone the potential to be an author, by
dramatically
reducing the costs related to publishing. On the other side, there is a
lot of pressure to tighten the control of the dissemination of
knowledge
and information, well beyond the current situation, by using a mixture
of legal and technical tools.
2 The Basis and The Effects of A Revolution
Between the 1930s and the mid-1950s, the scientific and technical basis of a revolution was created. The theoretical foundations of symbolic logic and technical inventions of computers gave birth to information technology in the modern sense. In parallel, cybernetics led us to see and design physical machines as made up of information control centres connected to sensors and actuators. This view also spread into our models of the natural world, and soon, information-based models and technology revolutionised genetics and gave birth to biotechnology in all its dimensions.
It took a long time before we became aware of the range of effects of this revolution. It developed in a quiet underground way. Vast bodies of the new knowledge were for instance developed in the public domain, such as algorithmics and most of the art of programming.
It is only in the 1980s that it became apparent that two powerful and contradictory processes had been set into motion [1]. The first process is the creation of a new realm of free creation and exchange of information, with extremely low transaction costs, and a huge multiplicity and diversity of contributors. The first Internet revolution (based on email, newsgroup, ftp and bulletin boards) and the birth of free software may have mobilised only specialised groups, but they nonetheless were paradigms of a new information world. Today this world is also the world of the Web, of public genomics or astrophysics data, of open scientific publishing, of free encyclopaedias, of new co-operative media, etc. However, in parallel, the second process saw huge industries being reshaped (pharmaceutics, agro-food, centralised media) or born (proprietary packaged software). These industries have become highly dependent on the ability to gain property or control usage of information and knowledge entities. This has led them to ask for and obtain a huge extension of the scope, duration, intensity, mechanisms and enforcement of property on artefacts that consist wholly or largely of information. The system of intellectual property has developed into a huge machine, largely out of control, and ever more agressive as it fails to stop the floodwater of information from breaking through the barriers it tries to erect.
In the middle, many –most– economic players are struggling to find a difficult path. To survive, they have to fight their way in a game whose rules have been set for the benefit of a few large oligopolies, while they cannot afford to be cut off from the innovation resources of free knowledge.
The situation of today
is
one of conflict, and of great confusion. As editors of this special
issue,
we have decided to present the view of the software and information
commons,
of the free scientific exchanges, of open creation. We know that the
other
side’s view also deserves to be presented, but it has been presented
very
often, and has all the necessary access to media channels to gain
further
attention. So we have offered the floor to a very diverse set of
contributors,
united by the effort to understand and promote
information-based commons,
and convinced that a prosperous and more human economy can develop on
the
back of it. It is not the view of all, and we urge the readers to
remember
it when reading. But for those who share it, it is key to a new
development
of human abilities and social exchanges, to a revolution akin to what
the
birth of reading and writing has represented for mankind.
3 What is in This Issue?
In this context, we have invited several authors to write on three general topics:
The role of a common information infrastructure in the information society. “The Political Economy of Commons”, by Yochai Benkler, opens this section, defining the structure of the information commons, its sustainability, and its importance for democracy and for individual freedom. David Bollier, in “The Rediscovery of the Commons” explains how a large part of the current information society is already a commons, which plays a vital role in the economical and cultural production. José Antonio Millán, in “Language in the Digital Media: A Political Challenge” analyzes the situation of most languages in the digital domain, and how the promotion of a publicly available infraestructure of language-related software would be of service to the societies using those languages.
Why software should be within the scope of copyright law, and not patent law. Pierre Haren opens this section with some brief notes on his opinion on software patents, “A Note on Software Patents”. Later, Alberto Bercovitz Rodríguez-Cano offers a transcript of his “On the Patentability of Inventions Involving Computer Programmes”, which he delivered at a hearing held at the European Parliament, and Roberto Di Cosmo contributes with “Legal Tools to Protect Software: Choosing the Right One”, an article studying the different legal tools to deal with software. Closing this section, we include “Petition to the European Parliament”, written by several well-known European computer scientists and engineers, related to the proposed Directive on software patents currently being discussed at the European Parliament.
The problems introduced by current trends in legal and technological measures to limit the user rights on information management. As a motivating view, we open this section with Richard Stallman's “The Right to Read”, which appeared in Communications of the ACM six years ago -updated by the author in October 2002-, but is today even more illustrating. Next article is “Please, Pirate My Songs!”, by Ignacio Escolar, a musician which describes the situation of the music industry from his point of view. To complete the section, we have included “The EUCD and the DMCA in 2003: How Legal Protection for Technological Measures Is Shaping Consumers’ and Copyright Owners’ Digital Rights”, by Gwen Hinze, and “‘Trusted Computing’ and Competition Policy - Issues for Computing Professionals”, by Ross Anderson, both tackling the subject of current trends in laws and technical means for dealing with intellectual tackling the subject of and authors' rights in the context of electronic media, and the problems they may present.
We hope that the reader
will
enjoy reading these contributions as much as we enjoyed to make this
issue
of Upgrade and Novática a reality
[2].
And don’t forget that, whatever the opinion about these topics, they
are
shaping our future in the years to come, and that of those who will
come
after us.
Books
Licensing and new trends in intellectual property
Translated by Steve
Turpin
Note from the Editor of Upgrade: This monograph will be also published in Spanish (full issue printed, some articles online) by Novática, journal of the Spanish CEPIS society ATI (Asociación de Técnicos de Informática) at <http://www.ati.es/novatica/>, and in Italian (online edition only, containing abstracts and some articles) by the Italian CEPIS society ALSI and the Italian IT portal Tecnoteca at <http://www.tecnoteca.it>.
| Last updated on June 27th, 2003 | by
Rafael Fernández Calvo, François Louis Nicolet, and
Roberto
Carniel, Editorial Team of Upgrade |
| <rfcalvo
AT ati DOT es> (E-mail address written with anti-spamming disguise) |
