[A2k] Access to Knowledge in a Network Society -- Master's thesis

[Karsten Gerloff]

Hi,

finally, my master's thesis on the discussion about a
Development Agenda for WIPO is finished. It is titled
"Access to Knowledge in a Network Society". In the thesis,
I describe the WIPO discussion on a development agenda in
the context of the ongoing discussion about how we manage
our knowledge. Thanks to all the people on this list who
helped and provided information.

It's available for download here [1] (.pdf, 600 kB). The
LaTeX source is here [2] (.tar.gz, 420 kb). The thesis is
published under a Creative Commons Attribution -- Share
Alike license, so spread it far and wide.

Please find the abstract below. Comments are welcome.

best,
Karsten

[1] http://nearlyfreespeech.org/downloads/a2k.netsoc.pdf
[2]
http://nearlyfreespeech.org/downloads/a2k.netsoc.tar.gz


Abstract:

As the network has become the dominant organising pattern
of society, knowledge has taken centre stage in the
economy. Having access to knowledge determines who can
participate in this informational economy, and on what
terms. But knowledge is different from physical goods: it
is nonrival and non-exclusive. It is also the input of its
own production process: Knowledge builds upon knowledge.
 A key player in the international system of the
regulation of knowledge is the World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO). Its approach presently relies mainly
on intellectual monopoly powers (often called
"intellectual property"). Other models, such as
commons-based peer production, are usually not considered.

After providing an overview over recent work in the field,
this thesis examines how access to knowledge is regulated,
and what conflicts are caused by this regulation.  The
debate on a development agenda for WIPO offers a vantage
point from which to describe the tensions that exist in
the international framework for the regulation of
knowledge.

Looking at the first year of the WIPO debate, it becomes
clear that
there are two major lines of conflict. One is between
developing and developed countries, which often have
different  understandings of the purpose of IMPs. As a
consequence, they prefer different solutions to the
problems at hand: while  developed countries are looking
to create a global system of regulation with uniformly
strict standards for intellectual monopolies, developing
countries require room for
experimentation. The second line of conflict is between
rightsholders and the users of knowledge. Rightsholders
generally would like to tighten standards, while user
groups highlight the importance of access.

Besides a reform of WIPO, experimentation is needed to
find viable and sustainable strategies for governing
knowledge. The project of a treaty on access to knowledge
provides ideas and offers an opportunity for debate on the
way ahead.