IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/ecinnt/v17y2008i4p377-400.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Intellectual Property Rights In A Knowledge-Based Economy: A New Frame-Of-Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Elad Harison

Abstract

The debate on software intellectual property rights (IPRs) has not only highlighted fundamental issues regarding the scheme of protection that software enjoys, it has also pointed out major gaps in the representation of computer programs as economic goods. In this respect, various interpretations of software propose a limited outlook by referring only to particular aspects of computer programs. The paper discusses the economic nature of software and computational processes and how they should be properly represented as commodities by focusing on software IPR legislation in the US. It elaborates the similarities and differences between software applications and machines on the basis of historical evidence from the evolution of information technologies and computer science. Further, we discuss whether computer programs should enjoy IPR protection (like their physical equivalents) and which legal regime would induce the maximal degree of societal benefits, while satisfying private and public interests. The paper also elaborates the essential issues of the distinction between ideas and expressions and the ways they are treated as intellectual property. It highlights major aspects in the debate over protection of software applications by both patents and copyrights and analyses the economic impact of the joint regime. By highlighting the dissimilarities in the economic nature and market behaviour of ideas and expressions we point out the difficulties in drawing parallels between software and physical equivalents. Finally, we provide alternative ways to establish coherent juridical basis and legal policy of software IPRs that aim at stimulating innovation and developing the technological landscape in information technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Elad Harison, 2008. "Intellectual Property Rights In A Knowledge-Based Economy: A New Frame-Of-Analysis," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 377-400.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ecinnt:v:17:y:2008:i:4:p:377-400
    DOI: 10.1080/10438590701281280
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10438590701281280
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/10438590701281280?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Babbage, Charles, 1832. "Economy of Machinery and Manufactures," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number babbage1832.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cristiano, Antonelli & Ferraris, Gianluigi, 2009. "Innovation as an Emerging System Property: an Agent Based Model," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 200911, University of Turin.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jean-Louis Peaucelle, 2012. "Rhetoric and logic in Smith's Description of the Division of Labor," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 385-408, May.
    2. Scott, Susan V., 2010. "Understanding the characteristics of techno-innovation in an era of self-regulated financial services," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 37867, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Cockshott, Paul & Renaud, Karen, 2016. "Humans, robots and values," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 19-28.
    4. Joseph Persky, 2017. "Producer co-operatives in nineteenth-century British economic thought," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 319-340, March.
    5. Nuvolari, A. & Verspagen, B., 2005. "'Unravelling the Duty': Lean�s Engine Reporter and Cornish Steam Engineering," Working Papers 05.14, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies.
    6. Katia Caldari, 2007. "Alfred Marshall's critical analysis of scientific management," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 55-78.
    7. Oldham, Greg R. & Fried, Yitzhak, 2016. "Job design research and theory: Past, present and future," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 20-35.
    8. Marco Corsino & Roberto Gabriele & Enrico Zaninotto, 2008. "Organizational capabilities and industry dynamics: a computational model," ROCK Working Papers 050, Department of Computer and Management Sciences, University of Trento, Italy, revised 18 Nov 2008.
    9. Stolpe, Michael, 1995. "Technology and the dynamics of specialization in open economies," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 738, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    10. Robert C. Allen, 2019. "Real wages once more: a response to Judy Stephenson," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 72(2), pages 738-754, May.
    11. Majumdar, Sumit K., 2014. "Technology and wages: Why firms invest and what happens," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 44-54.
    12. David Gaddis Ross, 2014. "An Agency Theory of the Division of Managerial Labor," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(2), pages 494-508, April.
    13. David Spencer, 2013. "Promoting High Quality Work: Obstacles and Opportunities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 583-597, May.
    14. Gianluigi Giustiziero, 2021. "Is the division of labor limited by the extent of the market? Opportunity cost theory with evidence from the real estate brokerage industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(7), pages 1344-1378, July.
    15. Manuela Mosca, 2008. "On the origins of the concept of natural monopoly: Economies of scale and competition," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(2), pages 317-353.
    16. Cheong Kee Cheok, 2011. "Book Review: Nowhere to Hide: The Great Financial Crisis and Challenges for Asia, by Lim, M.M.H. and Lim, C., Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2010, pp. xxiv, 174," Institutions and Economies (formerly known as International Journal of Institutions and Economies), Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, vol. 3(1), pages 149-155, April.
    17. Gilles, Robert P. & Pesce, Marialaura & Diamantaras, Dimitrios, 2020. "The provision of collective goods through a social division of labour," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 287-312.
    18. Yang, Dan & Liu, Zimin, 2012. "Does farmer economic organization and agricultural specialization improve rural income? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 990-993.
    19. David Simpson, 2013. "The Rediscovery of Classical Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15080.
    20. Robert P. Gilles, 2018. "The Core of an Economy with an Endogenous Social Division of Labour," Papers 1809.01470, arXiv.org.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:ecinnt:v:17:y:2008:i:4:p:377-400. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/GEIN20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.