RESOURCES

Articles

a) 'Reclaiming Commons - John Hepburn'
John Hepburn reflects on the Prime Minister's position that “Nothing is ever free – and nor should it be.” It rolled off his tongue like a truism. Sure - nothing is ever free – and nor should it be. Actually, lots of things used to be free – and some things still are. Others should be. They’re called commons.

 

 

 

b) "Education as a commons" by James Arvanitakis, April 2006 (as first published on www.Newmatilda.com)

 

 

 

c) The People's Network

By Drew Turney - Internet.au, December 2004 Since the advent of the modern science fiction era, ubiquitous connectivity against a backdrop of smart and networked machines has been an essential part of every serious vision of the future.

Sure, we might live in that world now - where you can wake up and push a button on a universal remote control that puts the kettle on – but in truth, much of the institutions of the early 21st century still adhere to the strictures laid down as much as a century ago; powerful commercial interests still own the media.

This article discusses the enclosure of the information commons and features the Commons Institute…

http://www.drewturney.com/print_story.php?articleID=596

d) On FOSS, IP Laws, and Expanding Legal Choices By Gabriella Coleman reprinted on Groklaw with permission by LinuxInsider - Sunday, September 26 2004 @ 06:00 AM EDT

 

The author, Gabriella Coleman, notes that FOSS has no politics. That is, it's not left, right, liberal, anarchist, communist, conservative, nothing. It's about freedom, as in free speech, software code being a form of speech, and it's about optimal science. Nevertheless, she writes, it is literally changing the legal world, by presenting an innovative, viable legal choice outside of the previous IP framework.

This is a good article on Free and Open Source Software and Intellectual Property. Groklaw is a site that is following the SCO v. The World intellectual property case that has been in the courts.

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2004092600552182

SPEECHES

“Keeping it Common” - by James Arvanitakis

Launch of the TCI – September 2004

Click here to view the above speech.

 

"Pharmaceuticals as commons" – By Marina Carman  

Launch of TCI – September 2004

Click here to view the above speech.

 

"I have a patent lawyer on my payroll"

Intellect v. Intellectual Property Rights - a battle over the cultural commons [2004]

By James Arvanitakis

 

Click here for a for a copy of the above speech in PDF format.

 

The Commons - opening and enclosing non-commodified space [2005]

By James Arvanitakis

 

Click here for a for a copy of the above speech in PDF format.

Resources

The Commons Institute information brochure.

 

 

 

Books about The Commons

 

Brand Name Bullies : The Quest to Own and Control Culture by David Bollier.
Co-founder of Public Knowledge and author of Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth An impassioned, darkly amusing look at how corporations misuse copyright and trademark law to stifle creativity and free speech. http://www.brandnamebullies.com/

References

In preparing the information on this website, the following articles have been used:

Bollier, D, (1994) “Reclaiming the Commons: Why we need to protect our public resources from private encroachment”, Boston Review, sourced from http://www.bostonreview.net/BR27.3/bollier.html

Davis, M. (1992) “Fortress Los Angeles: The Militarisation of Urban Space”, in Surkin, M. (ed.) Variations on a Theme Park, Hill and Wang, New York, pp.154-180

Ecologist, The (1993) Whose Common Future? Reclaiming the Commons, Earthscan Publications, London

Hardin, G. (1968) “The Tragedy of the Commons”, Chapter 2 from Dryzek, J.S. and Schlosberg, D. (1999) Debating the Earth: The Environmental Politics Reader, Oxford University Press, New York

Klien, N (2001) No Logo, Griffin Press, Netley, South Australia

Pearce, F. (2002) ‘Market forces ‘are the way to save the planet’’, New Scientist, vol. 175, no.2350, 6 July 2002, p.10

Peatling, S. (2002) “Run Rivers like a Business: Expert”, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 October 2002, p.8

Reid D. (1997) Sustainable Development – An Introductory Guide, Earthscan Publications, London.