11.25.11
Access to Knowledge in the Age of Sharing
Summary: Knowledge withheld as a business model (and what can be done about it)
Copyrights are being contested by a form of unprecedented sharing of information, promoted greatly by the Internet and currently impeded by the rise of DRM in literature and applications (especially in mobile devices). Artificial limits on the sharing of knowledge are a business model to some. Failing to use copyrights for this purpose, some have escalated and harnessed patents, which make illegal even one’s own personal expression (and application) of ideas. What we are going through right now is a period where we can choose to use technology for the better or simply to use it for selfish and potentially malicious purposes. The decision is in our hands, but at the same time it is not in our hands because we depend on companies like Amazon and Apple to make or distribute products which a lot of people use. The matter of fact is, there are two competing camps — one that hoards and one which is being robbed. The idea that without planned obsolescence and artificial scarcity there will be no incentive to research and innovate is ludicrous and it is as case of wishful thinking in several different ways. If we look back at the industrial revolution and what made it possible, it is none of the things lawyers speak about. The light bulb has in some ways become a symbol of innovation even though it was the result of many ideas and attempts laid on top of each other. It was the sharing of understanding that improved the lives of so many people. Since to many readers this is a national holiday, we’ll keep the news lighter today. █
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