The Economics of Open Source Hijacking and Declining Quality of Digital Information Resources: A Case for Copyleft

The economics of information goods suggest the need for institutional intervention to address the problem of revenue extraction from investments in resources characterized by high fixed costs of production and low marginal costs of reproduction and distribution. Solutions to the appropriation issue, such as copyright, are supposed to guarantee an incentive for innovative activities at the price of few vices marring their rationale. In the case of digital information resources, apart from conventional inefficiencies, copyright shows an extra vice since it might be used perversely as a tool to hijack and privatise collectively provided open source and open content knowledge assemblages. Whilst the impact of hijacking on open source software development may be uncertain or uneven, some risks are clear in the case of open content works. The paper presents some evidence of malicious effects of hijacking in the Internet search market by discussing the case of The Open Directory Project. Furthermore, it calls for a wider use of novel institutional remedies such as copyleft and Creative Commons licensing, built upon the paradigm of copyright customisation.Economics of information and knowledge, intellectual property rights, copyright, copyleft, public domain, open source, open content, hijacking, customisation, Creative Commons, DMOZ, search engine, directory.

The economics of open source hijacking and the declining quality of digital information resources: A case for copyleft

The economics of information goods suggest the need for institutional intervention to address the problem of revenue extraction from investments in those resources characterized by high fixed costs of production and low marginal costs of reproduction and distribution. Solutions to the appropriation issue, such as copyright, are supposed to guarantee an incentive for innovative activities at the price of few vices marring their rationale. In the case of digital information resources, apart from conventional inefficiencies, copyright shows an extra vice since it might be used perversely as a tool to "hijack" and privatise collectively provided open source and open content knowledge assemblages, even in the case in which the original information was not otherwise copyrightable. Whilst the impact of hijacking on open source software development may be uncertain or uneven, some risks are clear in the case of open content works. The paper presents some evidence of malicious effects of hijacking in the Internet search market by discussing the case of The Open Directory Project. Furthermore, it calls for a wider use of novel institutional remedies such as copyleft and Creative Commons licensing, built upon the paradigm of copyright customisation

Phantom authority, self-selective recruitment and retention of members in virtual communities: The case of Wikipedia

Virtual communities constitute a building block of the information society. These organizations appear capable to guarantee unique outcomes in voluntary association since they cancel physical distance and ease the process of searching for like-minded individuals. In particular, open source communities, devoted to the collective production of public goods, show efficiency properties far superior to the traditional institutional solutions to the public goods issue (e.g. property rights enforcement and secrecy). This paper employs team and club good theory as well as transaction cost economics to analyse the Wikipedia online community, which is devoted to the creation of a free encyclopaedia. An interpretative framework explains the outstanding success of Wikipedia thanks to a novel solution to the problem of graffiti attacks - the submission of undesirable pieces of information. Indeed, Wiki technology reduces the transaction cost of erasing graffiti and therefore prevents attackers from posting unwanted contributions. The issue of the sporadic intervention of the highest authority in the system is examined, and the relatively more frequent local interaction between users is emphasized. The constellation of different motivations that participants may have is discussed, and the barriers-free recruitment process analysed. A few suggestions, meant to encourage long term sustainability of knowledge assemblages, such as Wikipedia, are provided. Open issues and possible directions for future research are also discussed

Industry 4.0: national and regional comparative advantages in key enabling technologies

Industry 4.0 is a name used to indicate a ‘fourth industrial revolution’, characterised by the emergence of smart factories in which cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes and communicate with each other and human beings in real time. European Member States and regions are committed to adapt their innovation systems to the trends of Industry 4.0 and Europe as a whole is facing the challenge of finding a balance between promoting research and innovation excellence and putting less advanced regions in the position to benefit from the ongoing industrial revolution. However, relatively little is known about the magnitude of this economic phenomenon, the comparative advantages of countries and regions and their technological specialisation. We use data from European regions’ participation in collaborative research projects promoted by the 7th Framework Programme for research and innovation to investigate relative and absolute advantages in the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0. Data are regionalised and categorised on the basis of an original taxonomy of technologies developed with the support of a team of European experts in each technological domain. The article also explores regional networks promoted by the Framework Programme and draws policy indications to support the competitiveness of European manufacturing

What drives the capacity to integrate Industry 4.0 technologies? Evidence from European R&D projects

Industry 4.0 is a word that identifies innovative technologies, processes and products, typical of a Fourth Industrial Revolution characterised by a massive and pervasive use of interdependent digital technologies and the rise of cyber-physical spaces or smart factories. European Member States are committed to adapting their innovation systems in order to be able to benefit from Industry 4.0 and the European Commission is also facing the challenge of putting less advanced regions in a position to do so. However, little is known about the drivers of the capacity to compete in the domain of Industry 4.0 by integrating different enabling technologies at the regional level. On the basis of data on regional participation in the 7th European Framework Programme for research and technological development, we investigate the factors underlying the capacity to compete by integrating Industry 4.0 enabling technologies. The evidence shows that EU funding, centrality in research networks and interregional cooperation all play a significant role in technology integration, and these results have important policy implications

Are European funds that support the formation of new firms well spent? New evidence on the role of public expenditure for entrepreneurship in Italy

This paper analyses the relation between the European expenditure for entrepreneurship in 2007-2013 and new firm formation in the Italian provinces (NUTS3 level). Binomial regression models are used to estimate the effects of public spending as well as of a set of control variables drawn from the literature on new firm formation. We find that EU spending has a positive and significant effect on new firm formation. We also find a clear evidence of positive effects of: human capital, demand growth (measured by the average annual growth rate of population) and density of economic activity (measured by the number of existing firms per thousand inhabitants). The role of other factors is less clear but, overall, the findings confirm that even in a time of recession, the resources used for entrepreneurship policy had the desired effect and more can be done in the future to extend their scope and coverage

Technological diversity in collaborative projects: insights into European research policy

Technology diversity is defined as the ability to perform research and development in different technological domains. We investigate the degree of technological diversity in the European regions, focusing on two main drivers: the regional capacity to obtain funding from the 7(th) Framework Programme, and the degree of regional network centrality in collaborative research. Our results support the hypothesis that regional capacity to access European funding and obtain a central position in collaborative networks fosters technological diversity in European regions. We also find that the high network centrality in a research collaboration network is correlated to a reduced FP7 effect on technological diversity

Do European Funds support the formation of firms? New evidence from Italy

During the Great Recession, European Cohesion Policy had an important countercyclical function. It contributed to resilience and supported economic development at the local level. This paper investigates spatial variation in new firm formation in Italy and studies the role of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the period 2007\u20132013. Our analysis confirms that per capita expenditure of EU funds is positively and significantly correlated with new firm formation in the aftermath of the international crisis. In line with the existing literature, the analysis confirms that formal education, unemployment, and the size of the regional economy are important drivers in new business formation. Our findings differ partially from the existing literature as regards the implications of firm size and industrial specialization. Service\u2010oriented provinces and areas dominated by large and medium\u2010sized firms are more likely to foster entrepreneurial capacity, presumably due to spinoffs and the effects on the network of suppliers

Technological diversity in Europe: empirical evidence from agri-food research projects

<p>Technological diversity in Europe: empirical evidence from agri-food research projects. <i>Regional Studies</i>. Regional technological diversity is the capacity of regions to carry out research in multiple technology fields. Based on the analysis of 730 competitive research projects funded by the 7th European Framework Programme in agri-food, we show that the capacity to obtain funding and the regional degree of centrality in collaborative networks promote technological diversity. European programmes for research tend to encourage specialization in peripheral territories and technological diversity in central regions. This has challenging implications for a policy that wants to promote research excellence and, simultaneously, to reduce the wide regional variation in research and innovation performance across the European Union.</p