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I’ve long had reservations about the intellectual property ‘land grab’ of the last few decades, particularly as it relates to communications. We are daily surrounded by marketing images, words, heraldry – whether we like it or not. This ‘brandscape’ is as much part of the world we inhabit as trees, rivers and mountains. Yet whilst anyone is at liberty to draw a picture of a tree, or make a photograph of a bird, to reproduce ‘copyright’ material is prohibited. Brands compete for ‘share of mind’ but do not allow us to own our experience of them.

I don’t believe that any idea I have ever had is ‘mine’. I am fortunate to have been taught to be a conducive vehicle for the apprehension of ideas. And every idea I have apprehended in this way has depended on the efforts of many others who made it possible. Even to be able to write this, I have to acknowledge those who framed the very language in which I’m writing, let alone the strata of thought upon which my insights are laid down.

I work in an industry that creates intellectual property for others, and I respect their legal rights. But I question both the morality and practicality of intellectual property. Leonardo da Vinci didn’t put a © symbol in the corner of the Mona Lisa, nor did he expect a royalty from every reproduction of it. We respect and honour his role as its creator and – actually – benefit enormously from his work being a part of our ‘cultural commons’.

The sharing of ideas, insights, experiences, knowlege and information is a fundamental human activity, and essential to our ability to collectively address the enormous challenges facing our world. Commoditizing and monetarizing intellectual property does not facilitate this sharing, but impedes it. Instead of creating abundance for all (which is what culture does) it concentrates ownership in the hands of a few individuals and organisations rich and powerful enough defend their ‘property’, but not accountable to anyone for their control of it.

The contents of my website are made available under a ‘copyleft’ licence.

You are free to share them — to copy, distribute and transmit my work provided you attribute it to me (but not in any way that suggests that I endorse you or your use of it).

Bear in mind that some of the contents of this site are not my intellectual property. If you are in any doubt, it might be best not to use them?

Relevant links

Money and the Crisis of Civilisation In this well argued ‘alternative’ analyis of present crisis, Charles Eisenstein talks about the economic cost of the monetarization of our cultural ‘commons’.

Creative Commons is a non profit corporation dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright.

2008 James Souttar