26 May Knowledge Really is Power
I stumbled across a great book in one of those discount bookshops recently. It’s called ‘Information Feudalism – Who owns the knowledge economy?’ by Peter Drahos and John Braithwaite. It looks at how corporations supported by rich economies are influencing intellectual property rules in the pursuit of even greater profits. Clearly corporations need to see a return on their investments in intellectual capital and locking up knowledge in intellectual property such as patents appears to be acceptable behaviour. However the book’s authors make a compelling argument that this often goes too far and that knowledge is effectively being locked-up at the expense of much of the developing world. It’s an interesting read, and charts the history of intellectual property strategies right up to today’s World Trade Organisation’s involvement. A short excerpt below:
"The basic strategy of the players in the knowledge game came to this. Their laboratories would produce knowledge that would be developed into products, for which their legal divisions would secure an impregnable patent position. Use was also made of trade marks, trade secret law and copyright. The quest for knowledge was really the quest for monopoly. Competition could be kept out or made to pay high royalties, depending upon the way the numbers panned out. Alternatively, intellectual property rightsand licenses could be used to structure a global knowledge cartel. "
Knowledge really is power – but then we always knew that.
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