Open Access, Open Source and Free Software : Is There a Copy Left?

This paper examines the open source and free software movements, and the adaptation of these principles in the context of scientific innovation, benefit-sharing, and access to knowledge. Providing an introduction to the basic concepts, including copyleft, general public licences, and the relationship to more competitive uses of intellectual property rights, the discussion explores this re-consideration of innovation and community with respect to the notion of “creativity.” The collaborative and incremental approach to a cumulative style of innovation challenges notions of the “finished,” fixed, and permanent product that is made the object of trade and economic rights, in intellectual property, as well as the object of property and protection against “copying.” This section asks the question, in the context of collaborative models of innovation and development, is there indeed a copy left?