Before starting to criticise Jaron Lanier’s “You Are Not a Gadget”, I have to state clearly that this is an important book that should be read by anyone interested in debating the role the Internet plays in modern society. However one may want to criticise its content, and there are Read more
(via Nigel Jones) There is no better way to start the week than with some thought-provoking yet light TED talk. Johanna Blakley explains how the fashion industry has managed to survive without copyright protection. The ideas in this video are refreshing and important, although it contains a couple of mistakes Read more
In recent years Flickr has been one of the best examples of user-generated content, billions of pictures uploaded by people all over the world, usually available under a Creative Commons licence. It is because of the sheer volume of content that Flickr has also become one of the most visible Read more
As mentioned in earlier posts, Yours Truly presented at a conference in Rwanda a couple of weeks ago. The conference was attended by African IP officials, and dealt mostly with software protection topics such as software patents, open source software and standards. However, I was surprised to find that one Read more
It is perhaps an indication of how times have changed that the content industries have won some decisive legal battles in court against Limewire, isoHunt and the PirateBay, yet these have not prompted the same level of scrutiny that previous cases have. The reason for this is quite simple. Whoever Read more
I do not have much to talk about this morning, but I have been unhealthily amused by the game Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock. Here is Sheldon explaining the game to us: Scissors cuts Paper. Paper covers Rock. Rock crushes Lizard. Lizard poisons Spock. Spock smashes Scissors. Scissors decapitates Lizard. Read more
As part of the its Development Agenda, the World Intellectual Property Organisation has published a report entitled “Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain” by the always wonderful Professor Séverine Dussollier. In the interest of full disclosure, I would like to point out that I was Read more
(via Ernesto Priego) Just finished reading a delightful post by Mary Churchill entitled “Why Do Academics Write?” Highly recommended if you are an academic or interested in academia generally. While the article tells the story of academic writing from an American tenure perspective, it still resonates this side of the Read more
And here it is, this year’s GikII programme in its full glory: Final programme (uncertainty principle permitting) Sunday 27 June 18.00-onwards. Social event (because geeks have social lives too) UK premiere of Kembrew Mcleod’s “Copyright Criminals” Ethanol and a chance to engage in social interaction with other members of the Read more
This is a great video about what makes people perform better and be more creative: One of the questions asked over and over again about open business models is precisely what makes open source work. How can Wikipedia exist? Who programs open source software? There is growing empirical evidence that Read more