[clug-talk] Opensource.com goes live. Article::Is IP another bubble about to burst? A view from another civilization.

[Juan Alberto Cirez]

From: 
http://opensource.com/law/09/12/ip-another-bubble-about-burst-view-another-civilization
"...

Patents were meant to reward innovation, so the question is, /"How did 
we lose our way?"/

The current model of trying to "propertize," "privatize" and 
"commoditize" knowledge comes from a very mercantile, reductionist model 
of treating knowledge. That may be OK for other countries, which have 
"intellectual propertized" their knowledge and hold the balance of power 
in IP Rights, but not for India which has had a long, rich tradition of 
free knowledge cultures like yoga, ayurveda, mathematics and many other 
disciplines. It would not be far-fetched to say that many Indian 
traditions place a moral imperative on sharing knowledge..."

I may be wrong, or even short-sighted on my belief; but I think the 
author is somewhat naive in oversimplifying a rather complex issue. 
Although GNU/Linux (or open source more broadly) could not have been 
possible without the collaborative nature of the open source community; 
one have to admit that in some cases it is the the revenue generated by 
the "proprietary" systems and services that makes the "free sharing" of 
knowledge, innovation and the very open source community possible.

One has to admit that at some point someone has to pay the bills. One 
would be hard pressed to argue that GNU/Linux (or even the open source 
community itself) could have survived without the patronage of the 
corporate entities that so jealously guard their intellectual properties.

-- 
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