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Collaborative creativity and the test of time

iSummit08Sapporo, Japan

July 31, 2008

Rishab Aiyer Ghosh United Nations University – MERIT

Collaborative Creativity Group

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Collaboration in history

James Watt, Lean's Reporter and the Cornish Pumping Engine

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James Watt

?

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James Watt

James Watt's improved steam engine... was the key innovation that brought forth the Industrial

Revolution. ... it gave us the modern world. A key feature of it was that it brought the engine out of the

remote coal fields into factories where many mechanics, engineers, and even tinkerers were exposed to its virtues and limitations. It was a platform for generations of inventive men to

improve.

--Wikipedia

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James Watt

Lobbied for an Act of Parliament to extend his patent's lifetime to thirty-one years

Drove the inventor of a superior engine to bankruptcy (Hornblower)

Blocked innovation in steam engines – and steam engine sales – throughout the life-time of his patent

When his patent ended, Cornwall – one of the biggest markets – boycotted his company, in protest at his former aggressive monopoly... sounds familiar?

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James Watt

“Duty” or efficiency of steam engines

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1811 Lean's Reporter

Monthly journal published by Cornish miners – the main user-developers of steam engines

Published the full specifications of each improved engine, so they could be copied

Improvements, performance skyrocketed

New inventors (Trevithick, Woolf...) avoided patents, releasing specifications publicly

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185 years later...

Software published by user-developers of major innovative websites (Hotwired etc)

Publish full specifications – source code – of each improved version

Improvements, performance – and market share – skyrockets

Many new inventors avoid patenting (proprietary copyrighting), releasing source code as free software

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Web server market shareS

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195 years later...

And IBM, Sun, etc release free software

(Sadly, some never learn,

and monopolistic practices still exist)

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Barter

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Barter

<Profit

>Profit

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Purchase

$1

$2

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Purchase

$1

$2

< $2Profit

$1 <Profit

> $2Profit

$1 >Profit

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Cooking-pot (easier to draw a cloud)

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Cooking-pot (easier to draw a cloud)

<Profit

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How to divide the pot?

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Digital fish!

With knowledge goods, everyone gets a copy of the whole pot

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Altruism or self-interest?

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A Hobbesian view?

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Value: even without prices

● Existing FLOSS code – if a company were to recreate it, this would cost:– Euro 12 billion (substitution cost, till 2005)

– 163 thousand person-years

– Euro 100 billion (till 2010)

● Doubling in size every 18-24 months

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The concept is old...

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This scale is new...

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Exciting novelty of collaboration

CODE: Collaborative Ownership and the Digital Economy

MIT Press, 2005Rishab A. Ghosh, ed.

Philippe Aigrain, Yochai Benkler, Boatema Boateng, David Bollier, James Boyle, John Clippinger, Paul David, Cori Hayden, Tim Hubbard, Chris Kelty, James Leach, James Love, Fred Myers, Anthony Seeger, Richard Stallman, Marilyn Strathern

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Thank you

Rishab Aiyer Ghosh

ghosh@merit.unu.edu

UNU-MERIT

Collaborative Creativity Group

ccg.merit.unu.edu