Open Source Biotechnology ProjectHomeTheoretical Perspectives* Introduction* Sociology of Science * Economics * Law Biotechnology Industry* Introduction* Industry Overview * Intellectual Property and Industry Structure Open Source* Introduction* What is Open Source? * Open Source as a Business Approach * Open Source Biotechnology? Project Design* Research Plan* Ethics * Researcher Profile and Contact Information LinksRevision historyCopyright (c) 2003 Janet Hope, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200. Verbatim copying and distribution of this site is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved. |
Theoretical perspectivesIntroductionThis project is being conducted within the legal academic context and the theoretical approach is therefore primarily legal. However, since the 1960s, legal theory has expanded to take into account insights drawn from other disciplines, especially economics and sociology. Economic approaches to law have greatly enriched the theoretical framework of legal thought, while sociological approaches have emphasised the importance of empirical data as a basis for sound legal policy. Because the strengths and weaknesses of these two styles of legal thinking tend to complement each other, combining economic and sociological perspectives on particular legal issues can greatly enhance understanding of those issues. [66] (The rapid development in the late 1990s of "law and norms" theory, an area of legal scholarship influenced by "new institutional economics", or NIE, exemplifies attempts to incorporate both economic and sociological insights into legal analysis. [67] Law and norms theory has been applied to questions of intellectual property protection and open communication in scientific research. [68])An interdisciplinary approach makes particular sense in relation to questions about intellectual property protection for biotechnology research tools because both economics and sociology have traditionally had something to say about intellectual property rights. Traditional economic theories tended to support strong intellectual property rights in general, while traditional sociology of science theories emphasised the importance of free and open scientific exchange. More recent theorising in both disciplines is more nuanced, but tends to emphasise the importance of information flow for ongoing innovation and the existence of uncertainties and obstacles (transaction costs) associated with the exchange of scientific information. This section outlines traditional and more recent theories about the relationship between intellectual property, information flow and the progress of scientific research in both sociology and economics literature. It then traces the legal literature on research tools in biotechnology from its emergence in response to dramatic changes in the US intellectual property system in 1980s to its incorporation into a wider legal literature on the nature and role of the "intellectual commons" (and the "public domain") at the turn of the twentieth century. Finally, we note the emergence of another substrand of that wider legal literature that analyses the Free and Open Source software revolution of the 1980s and 1990s and attempts to generalise the analysis to a concept of "commons-based peer production". |