Tragedy of the Anticommons? Intellectual Property and the Sharing of Scientific Information

Biddle, Justin B.

doi:10.1086/667874

Cited by 14 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Many heterodox economists are uneasy about the cultural and social implications of inhibiting free access to knowledge and information by society at large. Many philosophers find that privatizing and commercializing the results of scientific research-particularly patenting the results of research-is both epistemically and socially detrimental due to similar concerns (Biddle 2012).…”

Section: How To Solve the Anticommons Tragedy In Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

The Tragedy of the Anticommons in Knowledge

Zhou

2015

Review of Radical Political Economics

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The anticommons in knowledge is distinct from the anticommons in physical objects. The former is always tragic, the latter not necessarily so. For society at large, the tragedy of the anticommons is more serious when it involves knowledge than when it involves physical resources. Buchanan and Yoon’s (2000) formal model of the anticommons is incorrect even within the neoclassical context, and their neoliberal suggestion that single ownership is the socially optimal solution to the tragedy of the knowledge anticommons is misleading. This article argues that the only, epistemically and socially beneficial solution to the tragedy of the knowledge anticommons is to create, expand, and protect the knowledge commons. The article also constructs a simple formal model based on Bessen and Maskin’s (2006) sequential model, as a metaphor for how the comedy of the knowledge commons works. The analysis supports the worldwide movement for free knowledge, and dissents from the evolving political and academic consensus in China in favor of more restrictive intellectual property regimes.

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Section: How To Solve the Anticommons Tragedy In Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

The Tragedy of the Anticommons in Knowledge

Zhou

2015

Review of Radical Political Economics

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“…2 The patent system also raises many interesting ethical, political, and policy issues that will not be examined here. See Heller and Eisenberg (1998),Resnik (2003a,b),Sterckx (2006),Biddle (2012). 3 Other countries have similar laws.…”

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confidence: 99%

Scientific Realism and the Patent System

Resnik

2016

J Gen Philos Sci

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The patent system appears to make three metaphysical assumptions often associated with scientific realism: there is a natural (i.e. external) world that is independent of human knowledge and technology; unobservable entities (such as some types of inventions) exist; and objects can have causal powers. Although a straightforward reading of patent laws implies these metaphysical commitments, it is not at all clear that what the patent system has to say about the world has any bearing on issues of scientific realism. While realists might embrace the patent system's apparent metaphysics as providing additional support for their view, anti-realists could propose an alternative interpretation of patent law that does not involve realist metaphysical commitments. Thus, questions about the patent system's metaphysics depend on whether one takes patent law at face value or defends an interpretation of patent law motivated by philosophical theory. Nevertheless, philosophers of science should pay attention to the practice of patenting, even if they ultimately reject the patent system's apparent metaphysics and offer an alternative interpretation.

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Eco-Cognitive Openness and Eco-Cognitive Closure

Magnani

2022

Logic, Argumentation &Amp; Reasoning

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Tragedy of the Anticommons? Intellectual Property and the Sharing of Scientific Information

Cited by 14 publications

References 11 publications

The Tragedy of the Anticommons in Knowledge

The Tragedy of the Anticommons in Knowledge

Scientific Realism and the Patent System

Eco-Cognitive Openness and Eco-Cognitive Closure

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