Knowledge commons: an alternative to proprietary knowledge
Journal Title: MASKANA - Year 2017, Vol 8, Issue 1
Abstract
Intellectual property (IP) has become a crucial factor in scientific knowledge production which is based predominantly on profits and market relations facilitated by Intellectual property rights (IPRs). The result of this production is a ‘proprietary knowledge’, i.e. an over-patented knowledge which cannot be legally used or produced without the right holder’s consent. This work aims to ‘reopen’ the debate about IP recalling the ‘knowledge commons’ argument in order to affirm a diversity of ownership definitions, e.g. individual, multiple, collaborative, communitarian and public. The article introduces a brief analyse about the philosophy underlying IP – from authors such as Locke, Hegel and Marx – for a critical appraisal of theoretical and social aspects of knowledge property. The discussion presented about contemporary IP and its consequences for scientific production, includes the study of a biopiracy case involving the Waoranis, an Ecuadorean indigenous community, as an example of the ‘over-patenting’ of life and knowledge. Thus, in favour of the ‘knowledge commons’ argument, the paradigmatic case about the donation of the malaria vaccine patent is revised to show that it is possible to organise a scientific production guided by alternative criteria. The methodology used was the critical revision of primary bibliography and academic literature.
Authors and Affiliations
Marco Ambrosi de la Cadena
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP42163
- DOI -
- Views 255
- Downloads 0
Hydraulic assessment of waste stabilization ponds: Comparison of computational fluid dynamics simulations against tracer data
The overall performance of a wastewater treatment plant is in addition to the effectiveness of the biokinetic processes controlled by the flow dynamics. A wide used technique to characterize the water flow dynamics is...
Efecto del tamaño de la finca y del sistema de manejo sobre la edad al primer parto en ganaderías lecheras de la provincia del Azuay, Ecuador
La edad al primer parto (EPP) se refiere al tiempo en el que un animal pare por primera vez (Hare, Norman, & Wright, 2006), este refleja la tasa de crecimiento y su retraso reduce el número potencial de descendientes y...
Prevalencia de genotipos del papiloma virus humano en mujeres de la provincia del Azuay, Ecuador
Los principales objetivos de la investigación fueron detectar en función con la edad, la prevalencia de los genotipos de alto y bajo riesgo oncogénico de virus del papiloma humano (VPH) en muestras cervicales de las mu...
Metodología para evaluar la polución lumínica causada por el alumbrado público en la ciudad de Cuenca
La polución o contaminación lumínica es un concepto relativamente reciente que viene despertando el interés de científicos y reguladores a nivel mundial. El principal objetivo de este trabajo es presentar un resumen de...
Branquiópodos de las masas de agua lacustre del Parque Nacional Cajas (Andes Australes, Ecuador) inventario y notas autoecológicas
Un muestreo extensivo de 202 masas de agua leníticas (lagos, lagunas y charcas), ubicadas entre 3,150 y 4,460 m s.n.m. en el Parque Nacional Cajas (Andes Australes de Ecuador), ha puesto de manifiesto el elevado interé...