The Myth of Intellectual Property

2006.02.08

“Intellectual Property” is a phrase worth avoiding, as explained by much better people. Free Software advocates would be familiar with the reasons (I’m not very sure about the Open Source guys - ESR goes as far as to say that GPL is no longer needed, which, atleast to some of us, seems an unacceptable stand) but it’s not often you find the “management types” buying this idea.

But Peter Drucker is no mere management type.

Came across this interview with him in wired 1993 Jul/Aug issue (thanks Dulan):

Peter Schwartz: What role will intellectual property play in the knowledge society? How does one move around and manage knowledge, accredit it, and track it?

Peter Drucker: A friend of mine is a publisher of scientific monographs. He brought out a new book on brain surgery, and printed 2,126 copies. I said, “Why that number?” He said, “We always keep a hundred for our archives. There are 2,026 brain surgeons and hospitals that perform brain surgery. And we send it to them COD.” That was before the copying machine.

He just sold that business and is starting an electronic service. He is not going to print any more. He said, “If I print it, it only gets copied. But if I simply send it via electronic mail to the people who are members of that society, and bill them, I get paid, and what they then do with it is their business. But no way I can control it.” So, what is a copyright any more?

We have to rethink the whole concept of intellectual property, which was focused on the printed word. Perhaps within a few decades, the distinction between electronic transmissions and the printed word will have disappeared. The only solution may be a universal licensing system. Where you basically become a subscriber, and where it is taken for granted that everything that is published is reproduced. In other words, if you don’t want everybody to know, don’t talk about it. I think we are getting there very fast.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.03/drucker_pr.html

I hope we’ll get there fast enough.

Permanent Link | Filed under: Marketing, FOSS, Thoughts

1 Comment

Comments Feed

  1. Dulan

    February 9th, 2006 at 3:43 pm

    I think another important point in the article is how Pater Gabriel is said to have reacted to piracy of his albums:

    “How do you deal with piracy of your albums?”
    Gabriel said, “Oh, I treat it as free advertising. I follow it with a rock concert. When they steal my albums in Indonesia, I go there and I perform.”