<apologies in advance for any x-posting> Hello All, We have received one book, two papers and a thesis as contributions to our community site this month. Many thanks to all the authors that have made their submissions. See you all soon! Karim Book Author von Hippel, Eric Title: Democratizing Innovation (MIT Press, 2005) http://web.mit.edu/evhippel/www/democ.htm Overview: Innovation is rapidly becoming democratized. Users, aided by improvements in computer and communications technology, increasingly can develop their own new products and services. These innovating users--both individuals and firms--often freely share their innovations with others, creating user-innovation communities and a rich intellectual commons. In Democratizing Innovation, Eric von Hippel looks closely at this emerging user-centered innovation system. He explains why and when users find it profitable to develop new products and services for themselves, and why it often pays users to reveal their innovations freely for the use of all. The trend toward democratized innovation can be seen in software and information products--most notably in the free and open-source software movement--but also in physical products. He shows that product and service development is concentrated among "lead users," who are ahead on marketplace trends and whose innovations are often commercially attractive. Von Hippel argues that manufacturers should redesign their innovation processes and systematically seek out innovations developed by users. User innovation has a positive impact on social welfare, and von Hippel proposes that government policies, including R&D subsidies and tax credits, should be realigned to eliminate biases against it. An electronic version of this book is available under a Creative Commons license. Paper 1 Authors Boettiger, Sara & Dan L. Burk Title: Open Source Patenting http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=645182 Abstract: The open source and free software movements have used self-perpetuating copyright licenses to maintain open access to publicly distributed software. This model of licensing has now migrated to the field of biotechnology, where patents rather than copyrights dominate proprietary rights. Consequently, a model for open source patenting or free biotechnology presents a constellation of legal issues not typically found in previous open source licensing. This paper discusses several of these issues, including the nature of the rights transferred, the activities that may trigger the terms of the license, and the legal prohibitions on certain forms of licensing. Paper 2 Author: Lin, Yuwei Title Hybrid Innovation - How Does the Collaboration Between the FLOSS Community and Corporations Happen? http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/lin4_hybrid.pdf Abstract Unlike innovation based on a strong professional culture involving close collaboration between professionals in academia and/or corporations, the current Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development entails a global knowledge network, which consists of 1) a heterogeneous community of individuals and organisations who do not necessarily have professional backgrounds in computer science but competent skills to understand programming and working in a public domain; 2) corporations. This paper highlights the importance of the hybrid form of developing and implementing software, and also identifies several key factors shaping the collaboration between OSS firms and the community. Undergraduate Thesis Author Greenberg, Robert Title: Open Source Software Development http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/greenberg.pdf Abstract: This paper examines applies basic economic theory to Open Source Software Development. Through examination of rational actor behavior I show why economically motivated individuals and firms choose to develop code that to be given away freely. It also examines the various Open Source licenses, including the two most common, the Free Software Foundation’s General Public License (GPL) and Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) License. Included are case studies to illustrate the workings of Open Source Software projects and how profit seeking firms have attached themselves to them. These case studies include the Apache Web Server, Mozilla, IBM, Microsoft’s Shared Source Initiative, and Red Hat. The associated business plans are also discussed. An executive summary precedes the paper and a glossary is attached to the end. -- Karim R. Lakhani MIT Sloan | The Boston Consulting Group Mobile: +1 (617) 851-1224 http://spoudaiospaizen.net http://web.mit.edu/lakhani/www | http://opensource.mit.edu