Protecting the Virtual Commons
Self-Organizing Open Source and Free Software Communities and Innovative Intellectual Property Regimes
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 15. August 2003
Book
Hardback
XII, 168 pages
978-90-6704-159-1 (ISBN)
Description
Worldwide, governments and businesses are recognizing the added value of open source and free software. Unlike other software, this software is developed and continuously improved by volunteers in communities on the Internet. Some of these communities, like Linux and Apache, connect thousands of volunteers worldwide. The question is how these communities are able to continuously develop innovative software in a world dominated by markets, companies and laws.
Protecting the Virtual Commons informs us about the surprisingly creative solutions that explain the long-lasting stability of these communities. It identifies the threats that the communities are faced with and discusses the amazingly innovative strategies developed to neutralize these threats. The book has been written with a clear focus on intellectual property rights.
In their analysis, the authors provide answers to the following questions: Why have open source and free software communities created so many different licenses to protect their intellectual property? What influence do licenses have on the organization of the communities and their ability to innovate? What are the differences between intellectual property rights on software in Europe and the United States? What are the tensions between the way in which open source and free software communities deal with intellectual property and the way in which companies protect and use intellectual property? What regulatory arrangements can deal with the tensions between the corporate model and the open source and free software development model?
This is Volume 3 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series
Protecting the Virtual Commons informs us about the surprisingly creative solutions that explain the long-lasting stability of these communities. It identifies the threats that the communities are faced with and discusses the amazingly innovative strategies developed to neutralize these threats. The book has been written with a clear focus on intellectual property rights.
In their analysis, the authors provide answers to the following questions: Why have open source and free software communities created so many different licenses to protect their intellectual property? What influence do licenses have on the organization of the communities and their ability to innovate? What are the differences between intellectual property rights on software in Europe and the United States? What are the tensions between the way in which open source and free software communities deal with intellectual property and the way in which companies protect and use intellectual property? What regulatory arrangements can deal with the tensions between the corporate model and the open source and free software development model?
This is Volume 3 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
The Hague
Germany
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Professional/practitioner
Illustrations
XII, 168 p.
Dimensions
Height: 23.5 cm
Width: 15.5 cm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
462 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-6704-159-1 (9789067041591)
DOI
10.1007/978-90-6704-657-2
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Ruben van Wendel de Joode, Ph.D. student, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. J. A. (Hans) de Bruijn, Professor of Organization and Management, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. Michel J.G. van Eeten, Associate Professor, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.
Content
Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Describing open source and free software communities; 1.1 Introduction; 1.2 Popularity of open source and free software; 1.3 Historical development of openness and freedom; 1.4 The communities; 1.5 Characteristics of the communities; 2. Interpreting open source and free software communities; 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 The challenge facing open source and free software; 2.3 How individuals in communities provide a public good; 2.4 On the nature of innovations; 2.5 Variation and selection in open source and free software communities; 2.6 Summary; 3. The commons under pressure: business processes and IPR; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 What are intellectual property rights?; 3.3 Copyrights and patents on software; 3.4 Firms and their attitude towards IPR in the digital age; 3.5 Threats from the physical domain; 3.6 Summary; 4. Mechanisms to protect the commons; 4.1 Introduction; 4.2 Open source and free software licenses; 4.3 Beachheads; 4.4 Strategies; 4.5 Communities becoming a threat to the corporate software; 4.6 Effects of the protection mechanisms; 5. Living apart together: hybrid business strategies on the edge of the commons; 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 Hybrid strategies for software developers; 5.3 Hybrid strategies for hardware manufacturers; 5.4 Hybrid strategies for corporate users; 6. Analysis and conclusion; References; Appendix: the licenses; About the authors; Index.