Are stronger IP rights good or bad for innovation? There is very little empirical evidence. A recent report by the DoC claims to provide this evidence. Unfortunately, even a first reading demonstrates that the report is worse than worthless, it is downright misleading. Introduction What is the effect of IP rights on the economy Read more …
Tag Archives: technology
Will Big Data kill Intellectual Property Rights?
With the explosion of data, IPRs are under threat. IPRs aim to create artificial scarcity, but the growth of data under IPR protection is vastly inferior to the growth of non-protected (“open”) data. Because of their characteristics, IPRs are not able to tackle the growth of Big Data, and will therefore probably drown in a Read more …
Hollywood vs Silicon Valley – who will win?
The conflict between Hollywood and Silicon Valley is, at a deeper level, one between Content and Function, which I think Function will win. But there’s more: Content is also struggling, because there is simply too much of it. The combination of a data flood of biblical proportions with exploding possibility of function, will drown any Read more …
The SOPA discussion in a larger context
Technology is breaking down the distinction between Content and Function. This has a profound effect on Business Models based on IP rights. The SOPA discussion is a good example of the fight between Function and Content – which IP right will win? What is Content, what is Function? Content is the stuff you access Read more …
Four reasons to take the driver out of the car
At TEDx Brussels recently, Paul Rojas made a presentation (you can see it here) about a car driven by a computer. The project has been very successful; from a technology point of view, a human driver is, today, no longer necessary. That got me thinking – would it be a good idea to abolish human Read more …
A solution to patent warfare (and trolls)
Intellectual Property Rights (“IPRs”) are hot in the media these days. Headlines about patent trolls, the great patent bubble, patent warfare, pirate parties and the broken patent system appear almost daily. This is good, because there are obvious problems with our IPR system. It seems that most observers are agreeing that the current IPR system risks Read more …
Requirements of a new copyright system.
As I explained in my previous post, the current copyright system is highly dysfunctional. It doesn’t even come close to achieving its twin goals of promoting and protecting creativity. The main reason is that its underlying principles reflect a 19th century reality, rather than a 21st century one. In this post, I will take a Read more …
Do we need a new copyright?
I’m going to publish a number of blogs on the current copyright system. I believe it is fundamentally broken, and needs a major overhaul. This is part 1: what seems to be the problem? To say that the current copyright system does not function properly is a massive understatement. Unfortunately, this is true both for Read more …
End of the App story?
Do you know Pokki? Neither did I, until I read about in the FT. Apparently, Pokki allows developers to create software as Apps, using HTML5 (the next generation of website/internet development language). The really interesting bit in the blog was this: through use of this new technology, anyone could develop any App for the Apple Read more …
IPR v Innovation?
When your local newspaper devotes a full page to how patents are now preventing, rather than promoting innovation, you know something is up. Sure, it’s the middle of August and everyone is on holiday, but there is a financial meltdown going on, so no lack of potential copy. But they are not the only ones. Read more …